A Place Called Here
by MonkD.drgn
Summary: Our favorite Little Ponies (and Dragon) find themselves in a strange place that makes Discord look tame by comparison. Somewhere where nothing makes sense and anything is possible (& not in a good way) and so, they must try their hardest to find their way home. But first, they must find each other. However, something has been freed. Something that certainly won't be their Friend
1. Welcome to Wonderland!

I do not own **MLP: fim**. That honor goes to the much despised Hasbro.

* * *

The ability to perceive reality can shift do to a hooful of circumstances. These include, but are not limited to, head trauma, hullucinegenics, eye problems, and magical mishaps. Spike was currently experiencing the results of this last one. He felt numb throughout his whole being, like pins and needles and his blood was ice water. As proper sensation slowly returned to his body he began to feel a burning pain throughout every nerve, and what only could be described as a major migraine.

As he slowly opened his eyes he couldn't clearly see the sky above, but what he could see was tinted red. As things came into focus, he could see lovely sapphire blue clouds in a auburn sky. Not seeing anything wrong and that everything was ok, Spike decided to go back to sleep.

It took a second for his common sense to catch up.

Spike sat up, seeing as his situation **clearly** wasn't ok. Ignoring the sky above, he observed the world around him. Right in front of him was a mountain of grey stone, that if he didn't know any better seemed to be covered in twinkling stars. The ground was a strange patch work of different colored dirt, not a shade was missing.

Turning to look behind him, he saw that he wasn't alone. Lying not far from him was one Applejack Apple and Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie was closer, maybe 7 or 10 feet behind him, while Applejack was more like 20 feet away.

Not wasting any time Spike got up and moved to help his Friends. Knowing Applejack would probably be fine, he went over to Trixie.

"Trixie, Trixie wake up. Wake up. This is no time for beauty sleep."

Trixie stirred a bit and began to mumble in her sleep.

"Oh Spike. I didn't know you thought I was beautiful. Who knew you could be such a charmer." She said this completely unaware that it was making the _"baby"_ Dragon blush.

Focussing himself for the task at hand, he tried to figure out a way to wake up the blue pony. He considered trying to find water to dump on her, but figured that could take too long. He also considered licking her cheek, but that might only result in further confusion after the beauty comment. After giving it another minute of thought, he snapped his claws as he had his plan.

Preparing for what ever-reaction he would get, he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"Hey Trixie! Twilight decided that she'll be the Princess of Beauty as well as Friendship."

Suddenly the cyan blue Unicorn stood up full force and yelled Out. _**"She already has Magic and Friendship! She Can't have Beauty too!"**_

Spike smirked. "Good, you're awake."

"Where, where are we?" Trixie asked while totally blushing in embarrassment.

Knowing things were serious and deciding to be merciful, this time, Spike answered her question. "I don't know. But it definitely isn't anywhere near Ponyville."

Spike got up, leaving her to absorb this information while he went to wake Applejack. He was no more than 5 feet away when the farm Pony sat up abruptly.

Looking around a bit, the Apple spotted her Draconian Friend.

"Spike? What in tarnation is going on? And whats that rumbling?" The orange farm pony asked this as the Dragon moved towards her, noting the sudden shaking of the ground.

Spike was going to reply that he didn't know, when he noticed the aforementioned rumbling. He'd been so focused on the girls that he hadn't noticed it at first. Now that he had noticed it however, it seemed like it was only increasing, and getting closer. Listening for a couple of seconds, he figured out that it was coming from his right. So, turning that way he saw a forest of a sort he hadn't noticed before. The trees almost looked like giant dandelions, though there were a few obvious differences. The trunks were green, which kinda strengthened the comparison, but they were an ugly puke shade of the color. The round part that resembled the flower the most on the other claw seemed to be made of a set of purple metallic bars. And Spike could swear he saw static electricity bouncing off the, _branches?_

The rumbling meanwhile had only increased to the point where it was clearly audible, and the ground was even shaking. Spike could hear Trixie and Applejack in the background, questioning what was happening. He though, he was focussing on the rumbling. In the pit of his stomach was a feeling. A strong, dread inducing feeling. Less of a feeling even and more of an instinct. A instinct that told him they should probably run. The problem was, he couldn't move. A strange mix of curiosity, and fear kept him in place. So he waited. Ignored his Pony companions and just waited. He waited for so long that he thought it might have have been 10 minutes.

Regardless of how long he had waited, he began to relax as nothing happened except the continued rumbling. He relaxed to the point that he sighed in relief and so he began to open his mouth to say that they should begin to move whe . . . . .

 _ **SUDDENLY!**_ From within the strange purple forest emerged what they would later dub **THE BEAST!**

It was big, about the size of a fully grown elephant. It's body however, was that of a bear, with extremely matted fur. It's claws, five on each paw, were about 15 inches long, each. While most of it's fur was a dark brown, it's tail (an impressive 4 feet) was a deep obsidian black, the tip made up of three rattlesnake rattles. And boy were they rattling. It's head was a wolf's, and ram horns adorned it. The eyes were like those found in frogs or toads, with the pupils side-ways an a unnatural pink, the rest being a burning orange. Finally the teeth were those of at least a dozen different kinds of sharks, and just as many rows.

Even it's roar was unnatural, and more so, it was unsettling, not that anyone was settled at the moment. The sound was best described as the combination nails on a chalkboard combined with a dog's growling, and the pattern of a frog's ribbit.

This soul grating sound is what set off the most notable of baby Dragons.

 _ **"RRUUUNNNN!"**_

In the case of a certain illusionist the prompt was mostly unnecessary, as she had already started moving. Spike followed suit before he even finished his minor instruction. The stetson wearing farm Pony however hesitated. For less than a second mind you, but because of this caused the tip of her tail to be taken off in _ **It's**_ jaws.

Luckily because **THE BEAST** wasn't very intelligent, it didn't immediately notice it's prey getting away. So this gave our brave companions maybe, hath a minute of a head start.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

 **Spike very rarely wondered what he was doing with his life. That was because he knew, most of the time. He is the #1 Assistant and Best Friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Renowned Princess of Friendship. That being said, Spike on certain occasions wondered why he let things get to this point, the point where Twilight Sparkle attempted something dangerous and dragged him and their other Friends into it.**

 **"Twilight, are you're sure this is safe?" asked the adolescent Dragon.**

 **The purple Alicorn who was absorbed in her work somehow managed to answer. "Of course Spike, I've got it all figured out!" And so the Princess of Friendship got back to what she was doing, which was drawing an intricate circle in the throne room not 5 ft. from the Cutie-map with a piece of chalk.**

 **Spike, having gotten the best possible answer under these circumstances that he could expect, shook his head in exasperation. That was when he heard a knock at the doors and so he called to those at the doors to enter.**

 **"Come in!" He called out as loud as he could, wondering if Twilight would even notice that their Friends had arrived.**

 **The Princess of Friendship didn't react a micro-bit.**

 **The group consisted of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity (who seemed to be carrying something in her magical grasp), Starlight Glimmer, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, who was talking to Pinkie for some reason (this does not bode well for the rest of us), and Applejack who was the first to greet the pair.**

 **"Howdy Spike, Twilight. What ya got us all coming out here for?" Asked Applejack, "Must be pretty important important if ya even got Starlight to bring Trixie." The stetson wearing Earth-pony didn't necessarily expect an answer, as her Alicorn Friend may not have heard the question, and in this case Spike just shrugged his shoulders.**

 **Meanwhile, having finished her conversation with Pinkie, Trixie side-eyed the farm Pony and asked, "What do you mean EVEN? Trixie is amazing, of course she was invited!"**

 **She was completely ignored.**

 **And finally Twilight answered her friend.**

 **"Well Applejack I'm glad you asked." Twilight was speaking in her version of the Royal-Canterlot-Voice, which of course demanded attention and respect. Of corse, because of this no one noticed a certain blue Pony say "Don't Ignore Trixie!" And so the Princess continued. "You see, I've devised a long distance teleportation spell, and have invited you all here to test it!"**

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Fluttershy was known for being, well, Shy. Of course, being shy often stems from fear, which Fluttershy was no stranger to. That being said, she would later attest that she had never known fear truly until this moment, as she was running for her life with tears running down her face, sobbing at the top of her lungs.

Right behind her was Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The former with a fierce yet terrified look on her face, while the latter looked truly scared out of her wits for the first time in her life as her eye's were wide and her teeth gritted. She was also somehow looking back at the thing they were running from.

Speaking of what they were running from, it almost looked like a huge snake, at least 100 feet long and wider than most trees, it's head about the size of Big-Mac. It's teeth were long and hooked, though it lacked fangs. It was a rich sapphire in color, and it's eyes were as dark as night. It also had moth like antenna, and despite the snake like body it appeared to have centipede like legs. Of course, it was much faster that either of these creatures, and was moving in a strange zig zag pattern that allowed it to move even faster, and also crash into quite a few boulders along the way. This helped the Ponies a little, _but only a little._

As they went along running from their pursuer they appeared to be going down a mountain, or more accurately a pyramid, with giant steps every few feet. The structure itself while not made of it, looked an awful lot like peanut brittle. As they went, the three Ponies occasionally had to dodge trees that resembled lollipops.

Above them the bright yellow, really gold colored sky stayed as it was with no clouds, no sun, and no sign of escape.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

 **This statement seemed to cause those collected to stiffen in distress. Fluttershy was so scared that she attempted to silently escape out the way she came. This was ruined however when Trixie screamed out "How could you Twilight Sparkle!? I thought we had become Friends! And yet here you stand forcing Trixie into what is more than likely a magic death trap! Don't attempt to lie your way out of this, I've heard the stories." This of course got pretty much everyone to stare at her, with the acceptation of the aforementioned Fluttershy who yelped and jumped about 12 feet in the air.**

 **Seeing that her Best Friend was over reacting, sorta, she set out to set her straight.**

 **"Trixie! That's crazy! Twilight wouldn't put any of us, including you, in danger."**

 **Spike didn't look at anyone in particular when he added "Not on purpose anyway." Twilight of course only rolled her eye's and backed up her student's claims in her defense.**

 **"Starlight's right Trixie. I wouldn't ever put anypony . . ." Twilight momentarily paused and blinked before continuing "Wait! _What stories?_ " This question got various reactions from those gathered gathered, all indicating that those expressing them didn't want to admit anything. Of course, this trepidation didn't stop Pinkie Pie from saying, something.**

 **"Oh you know. Nothing major, just the kind that kinda, sorta, kinda sorta paint you as a mad scientist who's use of magic creates on a daily basis the sort creatures most notable in a story written by H.P. Lovesaddle. Ha, haha."**

 **At this point Twilight's pupils had become invisible they were so small. After about 5 seconds however the purple Alicorn face-hoofed and said "Never mind. Let's focus on why I've brought you here. As I said, I've created, with quite a bit of help from Spike I might add," At this the Dragon looked more than a little sheepish "a method of long distance teleportation, that should it succeed, revolutionize transportation in Eqestria." This actually managed to impress and pull those around her in close.**

 **This got a smirk out of the Princess of Friendship.**

 **"Now that I've clearly got your attention, allow to me explain the basic teleportation spell and how this version is such a great improvement on the original."**

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Currently Starlight was trying to remember why she had become Twilight Sparkle's personal student. For some reason she couldn't seem to remember as her, her Teacher, and one Rainbow Dash were running, or flying in the third's case, for Life, _Body_ , and S _oul_. They were currently trapped in what, for all intensive purposes, seemed to be a sewer. Granted it was also the cleanest sewer any of them had ever seen. This was likely because of the thing currently chasing them, so to speak.

Behind the trio, instead of the organic pursuers of their Friends, these three were being tailed, _no pun intended_ , by a mechanical terror. The machine had a nozzle in the front, from which a large stream of fire was released every 30 seconds, and of which our trio were just barely out of range. To the things sides were a single cylinder each, which was covered in wicked spikes. And below the thing, a series of spinning blades, and behind those were a pair of large vacuum tubes.

Searching for a viable solution to their situation, Rainbow Dash asks her Alicorn Friend for an idea.

"Twilight, tell me you know what to do to get us out of this!"

Unfortunately the Princess didn't have an answer.

"I'm sorry Rainbow! You saw how my Magic seemed to just bounce off it! Without Magic I'm afraid I'm currently out of ideas!"

This did not in the least raise their spirits, _obviously_.

As they slowly gained some sort of distance advantage over the pursuing machine, something happened. For the trio this was the worst case scenario, as another mechanical trash destroyer came from around the corner. This stopped the three in their tracks. Now the trio was trapped an equal distance between the two perceived instruments of death. Slowly, so slowly the metal monstrosities moved towards the three. So focussed on this were they that they didn't notice the fire hadn't been released for more than a minute now.

And then, _they were gone_.

They had fallen down a perfectly round hole that had opened up in the ground, and gone they were from wence they, were. Huh, anyway. Their screams slowly faded off into the distance.

About 15 seconds later, the machines turned all the way around, and continued to simply do their job.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

 **Outside of a few rolls of the eyes, I'll leave it up to you to decide who, everypony's attention was on the present Princess.**

 **"You see, the basic teleportation works by moving you through a different dimension, which can take up to 3 seconds, and then to your intended destination. This wastes valuable time and energy. My version however is far superior. The way it works is that it breaks you down to the molecular level, deconstructing you piece by piece, and then rebuilding you in the intended location."**

 **While before the idea of helping Twilight with an experiment caused some slight hesitation, the description given had stopped them in their tracks. While most didn't want hurt her feelings, including Fluttershy who was trying to get out again, a certain orange Pony decided to speak up.**

 **"Hold it Fluttershy." This stopped the cream yellow Pegasus in her tracks. "Twilight, sugar-cube, I understand your excitement. Really, I do. But before any of us agree to this here experiment, I want your word, your word as a Princess, and especially as my Friend that we aren't going to be turned inside out like a snake thats eaten one to many mice."**

 **Instead of being offended Twilight seemed to understand and smiled in reassurance before responding in full.**

 **"Don't you worry Applejack. I've done the calculations more than a 100 times. I am convinced wholly and completely that this will not only work, but we'll feel better afterwards. Sorta like a trip to the spa, or maybe a nice steam."**

 **Applejack smiled in return at the part about a steam. Rarity however, seemed to perk up after hearing the spa comparison.**

 **"Well if thats the case Darling, along with your guarantee I will be more than happy to help!" This was the enthusiastic reaction from the fashion conscious Pony. Her endorsement soon lead to the others agreeing to giving it a try.**

 **Spike having focussed on his Best Friend the whole time hadn't noticed until now, the object his former crush was carrying. Out of pure curiosity as well as a instinct saw the need to ask "Hey Rarity! What you got there?" This seemed to get everyone's attention and caused Rarity herself to blink before looking at the item that had been contained in her magical aura the whole time.**

 **"Aw, yes. Thank you Spike. I'd completely forgotten I still had it. This, is a variety of what is called a chaos orb. It's gift to me from Discord. The Darling seems to be attempting to endear himself to us further." This got a roll of the eyes and a grumble from Trixie. Despite this and the sour look on her face at the mention of the Spirit of Chaos, she seemed to mumble something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "he never got me a gift" and this was followed up with what appeared to be smoke exiting her nostrils.**

 **In responce to the white colored Unicorn the local super party Pony named Pinkie Pie asked "Ooh ooh! What does it do Rarity?" This seemed to make Rarity brighten all the more.**

 **"Oh I'm so glad you asked Pinkie. You see, whenever this little bobble makes contact with a solid object it changes its color and pattern. Discord suggested I use it to create some truly unique designs. If I like the pattern all I have to do is touch the orb with my horn."**

 **While giving a description of** **what it did, most noted that the orb itself was shifting patterns and colors itself every few seconds.**

 **Rarity seemed even more ecstatic with her Friends being thoroughly impressed. Twilight on the other hoof seemed almost concerned.**

 **"good catch Spike. If Rarity had continued carrying the orb while we performed the spell, well who knows what could have happened."**

 **This seemed to cause all presents eyes to widen in abject horror.**

 **Rarity however seemed the most effected.**

 **"Oh dear. I'm so sorry Darling. If it weren't for Spike-Wikey's observation skills we could have been blown to kingdom-come."**

 **Twilight smiled to reassure her Friend.**

 **Don't worry Rarity. We don't blame you. It was an easy mistake to make." Applejack followed suit with "She's right Sugar-cube. Could've happened to any of us. Just let this be another lesson to the possible consequences of mixing two different kinds of magic can bring" She said the last sentence while directing a nasty glare at Trixie and Pinkie Pie. Said ponies were rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment and starring up at the ceiling, while whistling in an attempted nonchalant manner, respectively.**

 **Deciding to get things back on track, Twilight directed her fashionista Friend.**

 **"Just place the orb on the map-table Rarity."**

 **This in turn caused Rarity widen her eyes.**

 **"But Twilight! wouldn't that be a mixing of Magic?"**

 **"Not at all Rarity. You see, the Chaos magic of the orb and the Harmony magic of the Cutie-map will cancel each other out. So just go ahead." She said this as though she believed it completely.**

 **Rarity at this still seemed just a little bit apprehensive. Never the less she moved to follow her Friends instructions.**

 **There seemed to be a second, that felt like at least 10 minutes to everyone except Twilight and Spike, where the tension was so, so intense. Ponies were sweating, teeth were gritting, and eyes were focused on the aura which incapsulated the orb.**

 **6**

 **.**

 **5**

 **.**

 **4**

 **.**

 **3**

 **.**

 **2**

 **.**

 **1**

 **.**

 **0**

 **Nothing seemed to happen, except the table turning plaid. This caused everypony who was afraid to sigh in relief, and laugh a bit. This caused two purple individuals to smirk and roll their eye's, respectively.**

 **"Lets get to the experiment already." This was the Princess of Friendship, who sounded just a bit impatient.**

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Applejack could run. Most who knew of her rivalry with Rainbow Dash would defend that of the two Applejack was clearly the fastest on her hooves. That being said, she was currently "feeling the burn" that so many spoke of. This was because **THE BEAST** was following close behind them. Trixie seemed to be doing fine, spurred on eternally by fear. Spike was a different story. Spike tended to be able to easily keep up with Applejack, at least in stamina. Depending on the task he could even out last Rainbow Dash. Applejack had always chalked this up to him being a Dragon. Of course, it could also have been do to him tending to do more manual labor than most (all) of her Friends. Regardless, stamina had never been a problem for the young fire breather. But he also had a short pair, enfaces on pair, of legs that meant running for too long could be a pain. And it was clear that it was currently causing him to lag behind. Seeing this Applejack called out to him.

"Spike! Hop on my back!"

Spike, who might have normally protested, didn't hesitate. He moved to the side and literally followed her instruction to jump onto her back. It might have hurt either of them if they weren't hopped up on adrenaline.

Seeing something to her left, Trixie made a judgement call and yelled to her companions.

"Quick! Into the trees! We might be able to escape _**It**_ there!"

Both pairs of eyes followed Trixie's path. With little hesitation they followed into another strange set of trees.

Said trees looked like pine, except the branches were pointing up and covered in strange purple and blue square fruit instead of needles. Also what appeared to be an onion topped the highest point of the trees, a golden yellow and the trunks were a ugly stone gray.

The group managed to get maybe 30 feet into the tree-line when it was made apparent that their pursuer was impeded very little. Behind the group of three the sound of what they thought was breaking wood followed not to far behind them.

And the unsettling roar soon followed.

The good news was that the trees definitely _slowed_ **THE BEAST** a little, as the the two Ponies weaved between the trees to create a sense of confusion in _ **it's**_ mind, while the _**thing**_ just plowed through the trees in relentless pursuit.

So focussed on the task were they that Applejack took a second to notice her precious hat flying off her head. This caused the orange Earth-pony to slow just a bit, but in the end continue despite the loss. This was just long enough however for Spike to shout "I got it!" and reach out to grab it. Unfortunately, he leaned a little to far and fell off Applejack's back. He grabbed the hat though.

Luckily Spike managed to grab Applejack's tail. This time she felt the pain.

Putting on his Friend's hat, he gripped her tail with both claws and started to try and climb back on. Of course, this is when **THE BEAST** burst through the trees and nearly snapped up the post-pubescent Dragon up in it's jaws. This is when Spike screamed.

 _ **"**_ _ **AAAAAAHHHH! APPLEJACK! RUN FASTER!"**_

This caused her to look behind her, and immediately pick up speed. At this point **THE BEAST** was only about 15 feet behind them, and closing. With Applejack forcing herself forward, Spike made an effort to come up with a solution. No matter what he thought of however, he couldn't see a way out, except _death_. Because of this Spike began to despair. He was nearly ready to cry as thoughts like, _useless baby,_ _stupid waste of space, idiot kid with bull-pucky filled dreams, useless baby dragon._

It was then that he remembered.

Oh yeah, He's a ** _Dragon_** _,_ and well, I'll let you fill in the rest.

Spike got a fierce look in his reptilian eyes, a look of **Greed,** a good kind though. The kind that involved protecting what was his.

" _ **Hey you! Yeah, you! I'm talking to you ya Bucking walking excuse for a SHAG CARPET!**_ Eat this."

For a second Applejack thought he was crazy while **THE BEAST** was just confussed. Spike meanwhile had inhaled with everything he had. He held it for just about a second, and then he let it **All** out. A great burst volatile green fire.

 _ **And, It, Was, Glorious!**_

It was evident immediately that **THE BEAST** could feel pain as it howled in absolute agony, and then crashed into a set of trees that Applejack managed to avoid, though Spike's left leg had momentarily made contact with it.

The group, Trixie now far ahead, kept running for some time, not yet realizing that they had managed to ditch the hungry animal that had wanted to make them dinner. It was only when Trixie managed to spot the end of the forest that they realized they were out of **Immediate** danger. They then proceeded to cheer in response.

The first to go was the aforementioned Trixie.

"Woohoo! Spike, you are officially my Hero! No wonder they love you in the Crystal Empire!"

Applejack followed suit with "She's right Spike, that was some mighty fine quick thinking back there! Makes me wonder why we don't bring you along more often on our adventures!" This just seemed to embarrass the Dragon who rubbed his neck and blushed quite profusely as a result.

Trixie immediately responded to what the usually Stetson wearing Pony had said.

"Applejack is right Spike. This is clearly a great oversight. This will have to obviously be corrected as soon as we get back to Ponyville."

This got a glare out of the Apple, up till Applejack cleared the trees and she saw what was in front of the illusionist. Before she could warn her however, she (Trixie) was gone, having disappeared over the edge of a cliff.

This was followed by a scream, perhaps of the Unicorns name, and Applejack running towards the cliff to see if there was any chance she survived, somehow. So focussed on this was she that she didn't notice the rock right in front of her.

What happened next was so quick that I doubt either involved would be able to describe it accurately.

Simply put, Applejack tripped, and became airborne. Spike, having no choice, let go of her tail, still with her hat on his head.

For just a brief second, as he flew through the air, he saw just a small blur shoot up past the edge of the cliff. A small blue blur. Of course, this didn't really stick in his mind, as they too went over the cliff.

They were both surprised as they fell that they could see the whole underside of the land they had been standing on, it was a floating island.

For just about 12 seconds they were in awe, before the discomfort began.

Suddenly, they were going up, instead of down, and they felt like they were being squeezed through a tube, that was on fire.

 ** _MLP:FIM_**

Pinkie pie wasn't afraid of much. But currently she was pretty spooked. They had temporarily lost the **Scentasnake** (Trademark Pinkie Pie) when it had crashed into a statue of what appeared to be a Pegasus taking on a grand spider. Though, the pegasus looked a little, _off_ to Pinkie Pie's eyes.

Now they seemed to be getting closer to the foot of the mountain/pyramid. Currently they were surrounded by a odd golden moss that seemed to be imbedded with tiny twinkling stars. Briefly they had passed through a pitch black cave passage, but had left it some time ago.

Finally they had stepped off the moss path. They slowed down a bit but continued to sprint. They found themselves on grass, a purple grass, and steam seemed to be rising off of it and ever so often a bright blue granite stone would rise out of the ground they had to step over.

There also seemed to be a strange mix of fireflies and red ants flying above them. All three Ponies found these strange bugs to be oddly cute. This went on for awhile, the three being in awe of their surroundings. They continued to slow until they were going at a sedate pace.

This changed when they finally came to a stop at a cliff. Looking over the edge they could see a strange dark brown river below. They were at a loss, they didn't know how they would progress further. Rarity supposed they could follow the river, as it was likely lead to a civilization.

Rarity and Fluttershy's attention shifted however when Pinkie Pie gasped. Directing their attention to where she was looking. What they saw made them gasp as well.

It couldn't have been bigger than Ponyville it's self, and yet it was floating in mid air just beyond the river. It was about 1000 feet in the air. It, was a huge crystal star, with 9 points, so clear in fact that it was practically invisible if it didn't shine. All three were simply in awe, and Rarity's mind in particular it looked like the biggest, purest, diamond ever discovered. Fluttershy just thought it was pretty, and Pinkie was more impressed that in was just floating in the sky as it was.

So focussed in awe were that they didn't notice the ground shaking behind them, until it burst open and the **Scentasnake** was behind them once again. This caused Fluttershy to let out such a ear piercing scream that it could shatter glass, if any had been in the vicinity.

They were all frozen, at a loss for what to do. Rarity lacked the offensive magic of Twilight, or even Starlight. Hell, Trixie could probably out do her in that regard. And while she was more than willing, despite what her appearance might make some think, to throw a punch or two if it came to a physical conflict if needed. But she seriously doubted she could even create a bruise on a creature of this kind. Fluttershy, well Fluttershy was near catotonic and likely no use in this situation. Pinkie Pie unfortunately didn't have her party-cannon at the moment. You my dear reader may think this not a problem because, well because its Pinkie Pie. The truth was though, even her usual methods wouldn't do them any good. She (and I) couldn't possibly give you a proper explanation as to why. Only that where they were currently located, even her talents paled in comparison to what could arise in a place like this. Of course, this didn't stop her from thinking, and thinking the pink Pony was. She needed something that could save her and her Friends.

Looking everywhere that was visible to her, twice, she eventually looked behind her. She took a moment to examine the crystal star hoping that it would somehow miraculously magically save them, and held her breathe for a moment.

Nothing, it was no help at all.

Looking around some more, her eyes finally settled on the river below. It took a couple of seconds to process what she was considering, and when it hit her she didn't at all hesitate to proceed.

Instead she just scream out "Executive decision!" And then grabbed her Friends to the best of her ability, which was actually quite a bit, and jumped.

They soon hit the _"water"_ and began to move with it.

Coughing for a bit, Rarity managed to get out "Pinkie Darling . . While I appreciate the saving of our lives, I do thin . . . . . . Hhmmm!" She stopped however when she accidentally inhaled, and tasted, some of the _"water"_ and found that it tasted like _**Pure, Rich, Sugary, Chocolate!**_

She would have enjoyed more of it, but her and her companions began to sink, unable to stay afloat.

As their heads began to go below the surface, an interesting thought passed through Pinkie Pie's precious pink head, that this might not be such a bad way to go.

It quickly left her head as she mentally screamed how she wanted to live.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

 **Things seemed to be going well. Twilight had directed her Friends to the strange circle, which upon closer inspection resembled a almost sun like symbol. While it was wholly round, it had 8 triangles pointing outward. One for each of the Ponies to stand on.**

 **The rest of the spell mechanism was simply a circle filled with many different Runes, until we focus on the center where there was a secondary circle in which a strange figure eight could be found. While one hath of the eight was perfectly fixed in the center of both circles, while the other hath was outside the center circle. In the center hath of the eight was the collective Cutie Marks of all those present, and an old rune for Dragon.**

 **Speaking of spike, he was meant to stand in the outside hath of the eight mark, and perform the mail fire transport spell, as it was what this large scale teleport is based on. To do this Spike simply had to breathe his special spell based green fire onto the into circle that contained the Cutie Marks.**

 **Twilight then had her friends, and Trixie, begin to chant a specific set of phrases in an old language over and over. This happened while she herself began to perform the main spell.**

 **This is where things began to go _wrong_.**

 **Twilight had taken into account pretty nearly everything, except something like the Chaos orb, which was currently rolling towards the Castle of Friendship on the Cutie-map, and so, it reached it's target.**

 **You see, there is nothing as powerful as Chaos magic, except the Magic of Harmony. And there is nothing more powerful than they, except perhaps both, together, in balance. This is a remarkably easy thing to do, simple even. As simple as placing a source of one atop the source of the other.**

 **This created a sort of conduit, through which the only power directly below the above mentioned Magic, untapped Dragon-Magic, could be conducted into the spell in a unprecedented way.**

 **Because of this, instead of simply performing a long distance teleport, what actually was the result was a, small, tear in the fabric of the universe.**

 **And so, the 8 Ponies, and 1 Dragon, were lifted from ground, screaming. Most in fear, two in pain. And then, they were gone. Just gone, and the Castle, silent.**

 **The only thing of notice was taking place at map table. It was turning black, and white.**

 **The orb meanwhile, no longer showed its interesting patterns and odd colors, but a vibrant, blue, eye, that promptly turned a sickly, fiery, yellow as it looked around a bit.**

 **And then the orb suddenly shattered in a loud explosion that scattered the pieces across the table and beyond.**

 **Now more visible, the table now resembled a giant Yin-Yang symbol.**

 **This was because, well, for now lets just say there is a reason no one ever implements the always simple Magic of _Balance_.**

* * *

 **Authors Note:** Woo, been working on this one for awhile. First ever My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fic.

Hope I did the series justice, and I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as I am able.


	2. So Begins the march for Mordor

Spike was in pain. The only experience Spike could compare it to was when M . . . . . . Princess Celestia had sent back all the letters that they had written her at that time, consecutively. The stomach of a Dragon was not a weak thing. Still, this was not a situation even a fully grown Dragon could deal with comfortably.

Suffice to say, Spike in his current state, threw up.

As he looked upon the former contents of his stomach, in his fuzzy minded state, the jewel incrusted vomit almost looked pretty. This lasted for a bit. Spike thought he heard someone calling his name, but it didn't register. So when Applejack put her hoof on his shoulder, he jumped just a bit.

He turned to look at his Friend, and found her sending him a reassuring smile. This allowed him to relax, if only a little.

Smiling back he took a moment to look around. It seemed they were in another unfamiliar location. This time a cave made of purple shimmering stone, with a waterfall of black, viscous fluid, that flowed into a equally viscous lake.

Looking in the other direction, he could see there was a declining slope that lead to a tunnel, at which stood the entrance of a very much alive Trixie.

Spike was relieved to see her alive. They had become odd Friends in the short amount of time her and Starlight had become so close.

Getting up, he groaned at all his aches and pains. Moving forward towards the tunnel, he stopped when he realized he was still wearing Applejack's hat. So he moved towards her and placed it back upon her head. She smiled at him and they continued to their third companion at a sedate pace.

They soon regrouped, and after a scolding from Trixie about keeping her waiting, they discussed their next move, and concluded that they needed to find some other sepient being and figure out where they were.

Not wasting any more time, they headed into the tunnel. Spike lead the way, having the best eyesight in the dark and sending out a burst of flame every two minutes to let his companions see as well. Soon they disappeared into the dark of the tunnel.

Unbeknownst to our group a single slitted blue eye was watching them from over the black pool, and slowly sank back beneath the surface.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Twilight Sparkle was currently using her Magic to ring out her mane. Starlight was beginning to do the same.

Rainbow Dash being less feminine, and without obvious magic, simply shook herself, which in turn got her Friends more wet. Because of this they stopped and gave her a dirty look.

This got the rainbow Pony's attention and she rubbed the back of her head in response. Trying to change the subject to something that didn't have them glaring at her, Rainbow brought up a important question.

"What do we do now? This sure dosen't look like Equestria."

Having finally finished drying herself, Twilight answered.

"Thats because this isn't Equetsria. In fact I don't think we're even on the same plane of existence anymore!"

This got both of her Friend's attention. Rainbow looked confused, not necessarily a strange expression for her, and scared, a bit more rare. Starlight on the other hoof looked like she was just a step away from having a stroke. As such she was the one to question her teacher.

"Twilight, what do you mean, plane of existence?"

The Princess didn't hesitate to go in to a sort of lecture, bight sized.

"I mean just that. This isn't Equestria! This Isn't Our Planet! _**THIS ISN'T EVEN OUR UNIVERSE!**_ " Stopping to catch her breathe, her eyes widened when she realized she had really scared her Friends now. Taking one last large breathe she calmed herself and continued. "Sorry. I simply mean, those things I just said. I'm not sure why, but we're far from Ponyville, probably stuck in some kind of pocket dimension. I don't know how we are gonna get back. Heck, I don't even know how we got here in the first place." At the conclusion she let her head down in mild defeat.

The only Pegasus present decided at this moment to say something, well, _stupid_. "Well duh. We got here cause your teleportation spell backfired, big time!" From Starlight this received a vicious glare.

Twilight responded by looking up directly at Rainbow. She quickly opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She took a few seconds before she finally gave her response.

"Thats not it Rainbow Dash. If anything the spell worked to well. I don't know exactly what happened but the spell received an immense amount of magic energy out of no where. For the life of me I can't quite figure out what went wrong. Regardsless, we should begin to move. We need to find civilization quick so lets not waste time."

Without looking to see if the two were following she walked ahead within the strange stone structure they had arrived in. It was sort of a manufactured canal made of a slick, ugly yellow rock.

Starlight was the first to follow, Rainbow waiting a second before doing the same. Soon things had slipped into a semi-comfortable silence, as apposed to the somewhat awkward silence it had started as. Things went on like this for quite some time

Rainbow had been attempting to subtly observe her Alicorn Friend, her head switching from looking forward to looking at Twilight slightly below her for several minutes at this point. Finally, she worked up the confidence to say what she needed to say.

"Twilight, Twilight I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that like this is your fault. I just kinda let my mouth say what it needed to without thinking."

Without looking the Princess replied with "Apology accepted Rainbow Dash. I know you didn't mean anything by it." With this she turned and smiled up at her Friend. Starlight likewise smiled, happy to see the situation resolved.

With all this happening relatively quickly none of them saw the wisp of black and white smoke that was following them. The wisp had been, and would continue to do so for some time, though it moved a bit higher into the sky so as to ensure it wouldn't be seen.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Little had happened since Spike's group had entered the tunnel. They had been walking for who knows how long, continuously making turns and twisting with the subsequent changes in their direction as directed by the team Dragon. This stopped however when they, well, stopped. This was because Spike made it so.

"Stop!"

Of course, Applejack replied with. "No reason to shout Spike. We're right behind you. Well, I am anyway. Considering how quiet she's been Trixie very well could have been lost." The magician knew she was being made fun of and corrected the former's statement.

"Trixie is still right behind you just as she has been. Now why have we stopped? Trixie is not sure she can build up the same momentum as before now that she has stopped."

This statement was met with a roll of the eyes from Applejack and complete indifference from Spike.

"I stopped because I smelled gas."

Trixie snorted at this.

"Is that all? We stopped because Applejack let one rip!?"

Applejack did not take kindly to this verbal mark against her. "Now hold on just one gosh-dang Apple-bowlin minute! Who said I was the one who let out a gas attack?!" While Trixie opened up her maw to reply Spike just mouthed the words _"Apple-bowlin?_ " in a questioning manner.

"Well I know that I didn't do it and Spike stopped us specifically because he smelt the fart and so it couldn't have been him. And who calls a fart a gas attack?"

 _ **"Me and mine do! And why does Spikes smelling it excuse him. Isn't the saying he who smelt it it dealt?!"**_ Applejack said this with particularly nasty look on her face, not that anyone could see it.

Trixie looked ready to really lay into the Earth-pony. _**"YES! But if Spike was the cheese cutter why would he make us aware of it Huh? Besides,**_ ** _everypony knows that eating lots of apples will make you fart! There's even a nursery rhyme about it!"_** At this point veins were visible in both Ponies necks, or they would be if it weren't so dark.

 _ **"That poems**_ ** _about BEANS! What!? Is your head as empty as a bee hive after a hungry bear comes out of hibernation!"_**

Before this could escalate further Spike intervened by getting between them and placing a claw out in front of each of their faces, though again this was kind of pointless.

"Alright! Knock it off! Seriously, we are lost in a tunnel, don't know where we are in the world, and our Friends are missing! And you two are arguing about who might have _**FARTED!?**_ What is wrong with you two?" At this point the Dragon took a second to catch his breathe before he continued.

"For the record I wasn't talking about that king of gas. I meant Gas as in the type that _Explodes!_ I stopped because I thought it would be a good idea to come up with our next move. And Trixie." The blue Mare turned to where she thought the voice was coming from. "Applejack is right, that rhyme is about beans! Not Apples." This resulted in a surprised face on said mare.

"Oh! Really? I guess I owe that Minotaur a apology."

Because of this Aj was giving her a rather, interesting look and followed it up by mumbling "You owe somebody an apology, thats for sure." though this went unnoticed by both of her companions.

Trixie, now understanding the reason for their delay came up with a solution.

"Well if you can't lead the way anymore Spike, then I will. I am after all a Unicorn who can use magic to light our way."

Spike did not respond well to this "Trixie! Wait, thats not such a good ide . . . _."_

Spike did not get to finish his sentence, because Trixie's horn lit up. The reason he tried to stop this, and could not finish his sentence, was because as Unicorns create light with their magic, they also create hot plasma, and _well_ . _. ._

There was an immediate blinding flash of light. Spike in this moment, thought he would loose two of his Friends because he had failed to properly explain something.

Of course, this isn't exactly what happened.

And in the last second Spike realized this and, realizing what was actually happening, prepared for it.

Instead of a fiery explosion sending them to oblivion, they were instead, to put it simply, Flash Frozen (please excuse the pun).

Somehow the _"gas"_ hadn't combusted, but froze each of them in their own personal block of ice.

They were facing each other, mostly, with Applejack looking surprised, Trixie looking terrified, and Spike looking annoyed, borderline pissed. A few things about their situation was notable.

One, the ice somehow made it so they could now see their surroundings clearly through it despite there still not being any visible light.

Two, the magic at the tip of Trixie's horn seemed to be frozen with her.

And Three, Spike seemed to be making a rude gesture with his claws, one only possible for those who had multiple phalanges at the end of a wrist joint.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Twilight, Starlight, and Rainbow had escaped what had appeared to be a sapient made flood canal some time ago. They had then proceed to walk what appeared to be several miles through a particularly large meadow. Now, after several hours of long hard walking, or flying in Rainbow's case, they were standing in font a tree line. The three largest trees they were standing before had intricately carved pictographs in the wood. Having become bored, they were debating the shape of one carving in particular.

"I think its a flute!" This was the Princess of Friendship.

Starlight followed up with "Its too far on the mouth to be a flute. Clearly its a banana!"

Rainbow, who had been quiet up till this point blurted out "You're both wrong! It obviously a **P3^*S!** " At the last word to come out of her mouth Starlight looked at her surprised and blushing. Twilight on the other hoof was wide eyed and looked as though she was ready to murder her long time Friend. This being the case she let her have it.

"Rainbow windagale Hothoof Dash! What is wrong with you?! this is hardly the place for that _sort of conversation!"_ She finished by say this through gritted teeth _._

"What!? That's what it is. I'm telling you! You act like I asked what you guys do during _estrus_!"

At this point Starlight looked about ready to explode, her face as red as a strawberry, while Twilight seemed to be preparing her wings, if only subconsciously, to fly up and eviscerate her Friend.

"That's not the point! This is serious. We need to take our situation seriously so that we can survive and get to where we need to go! Besides, if it was a **P3^*S!** why is it surrounded by musical notes?!"

"Take what seriously?! We've been standing in one spot examining a tree covered in pictures!"

This seemed to finally get a blush out of the Princess.

"Thats not the point! If we just say whatever we want whenever we want we run the risk of offending . . . . . . . Whats that sound?"

As if to answer her question, from over the three large trees came what appeared to be a wagon. Said wagon was being pulled by what appeared to be eight large stags, and flames seemed to be coming from the the back.

It didn't take long for this odd combination to hit the ground. With this the ground shook. Once things settled they got a better look at the strange vehicle. It was less a wagon than originally assumed and more a sled, though it did have a large wagon wheel on either side to the back directly behind the metal blades that identified it as a snow based vehicle. The whole thing was a dark brown color, and at the back were a series of exhaust pipes that schemed to disappear under the strange mode of transportation. The most odd part of it was the strange fins to each side, almost like wings.

More startling for the the three than the surprising appearance (literal and figurative) of the mad vehicle was it's occupant. He seemed to be a old **MAN,** as in, a human being. The only one to immediately recognize this was Twilight. Outside his being human, the old guy seemed to be tall. In fact despite sitting at the reigns, clearly had he been standing he would have been nearly 7 ft tall. He also had a curly white beard, the same hair adorning his head. On his face was a pair of black goggles with yellow lenses. Adorning his body was a bright red jacket/coat, the shoulders and elbows covered in black leather, a similar piece of leather holding it closed. It was lined with gold trim and and snowy white animal fur of some sort. He seemed to be a bit on the stout side and clenched between his teeth was a old white clay pipe.

"Ho boys! That was a bit much! Perhaps we should try for a softer landing next time." This was he, who just now noticed his audience. "Well look at this boys! We've got company! Hello there my little ponies!"

It took a second for them to realize he was addressing them, and another for any of them to reply. Interestingly it was Starlight who stepped forward.

"Hello, sir. You might find this rude but um, what are you?"

This got a laugh out of him, which almost sounded like bells.

"Not at all! I'm human!"

At this Starlight nodded, a reassured look on her face, which switched quickly to a slightly confused one.

"Thats what I thought?" For some reason it came out as a question.

"Although when you've lived as long as I have I hear you start to become something else!"

Starlight just looked more confused now. Deciding to give her student a break Twilight stepped forward to talk to the odd happy man.

"Excuse me, but you don't seem surprised by us. Why is That?"

"Well you certainly aren't the first Equestrian Ponies I've met! As a matter a fact I'm good Friends with Princess Celestia! I was quite happy to hear that Luna had returned to her self!"

This surprised all three of them and Twilight only verbal reply was "Oh." and so there was quiet for a moment. The old man soon broke it.

"Well you three seem to be a bit lost! If you need a ride I'd be more than happy to provide it to you!"

This too surprised the Ponies, but Rainbow Dash was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, pardon the pun.

"Wow! Thanks! We've been crossing this meadow and and we're pretty tired."

"Well then get in!"

His happy booming voice was what startled the two shocked mares into moving again. While either of them might have protested, they couldn't think of a reason to.

Once they got closer to the sled they realized it to was pretty big. It was 5ft high and appeared to be equally wide. It was an impressive 7 ft long. As she approached Twilight noticed a maroon colored ribbon at the back which was covered in round golden bells.

Soon they all were packed into the sleigh. Once this was the case case the man asked them if they were ready, but they didn't know for what so he just laughed and turned to face the front.

"Well boys, we've got guests now! Thats means we have to be extra carful! Jeff that means you!" The stag who responded put his head down sadly.

The man beat the reins and the Reindeer began to run. Soon, it was apparent that said running was resulting in the sleigh becoming airborne.

"Wow! This is Awesome!"

All three mares were looking over the edge of the sled. While that had all flew in one manner or another, what they were experiencing now was little different.

"Ho ho! Quite magnificent isn't it! Its different than flying under ones own power. Here you don't have to worry about being tired! You just get to relax and enjoy the ride!" At this one of the leading stags, the one who wasn't Jeff, made a noise that made him sound perturbed. "Oh, excuse me. What I meant was we don't have to worry about getting tired."

Twilight finally let her curiosity bubble to the surface and she began to ask questions.

"I don't understand. Who are you? How do your Reindeer fly? Where are we going?"

"Ho ho ho! Aren't you a curious one! Lets begin with introductions shall we? I am Nicolas, but my Friends call me Nick! Please feel free to do so! And I all ready know who you are! Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! and Starlight Glimmer! And before you ask, lets just add how I know your names to the already long list of questions. K?"

Twilight blinked, and she wasn't alone as the other two mares had also had their attention grabbed.

"Ok sir. I mean, Nick!"

"Good! Now, what would you like to know first?"

They looked at each other for a second, but it was Starlight who spoke first.

"Um, how exactly do you know who we are?"

"Ah, yes. That often is the one everyone wants answered to first. Well you see I'm a delivery man of sorts. Part of mt job description is keeping an eye on everyone so that I know what to deliver to who."

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof, thinking on something before asking "And the reason you know about us is because you've been watching us is to see what to give us?"

"In a way, though I've never delivered a gift to anyone directly in Equestria except celestial and Luna. And in watching you all so much I find myself becoming a bit of a Brony. On the regular however I give away what Ponies are looking for to give to their loved ones around Hearth's Warming Eve!"

Twilight was rubbing her chin again and and said "I see." and seemed to have lost her self in thought. This problem was fixed when Rainbow screamed out the next question.

"What about the Reindeer?! How do they fly!?"

"Ah yes! I've had them pull my Sleigh for quite some time. But to be honest I'm not too sure on how they can fly. You see, I got them from a magical island I discovered early in my career. A Friend of mine, Jas, named them Never-Deer Reindeer! He had quite a sense of humor about it! He proposed that a sort of magical dust had begun to seep into the soil of the plants they ate, which they seemed to eat exclusively!"

Rainbow soaked up every word, as though the knowledge of how others came to fly made her happier than anything else.

The third question was asked by Starlight.

"Where are you taking us?'

"Somewhere where you can begin your journey home proper! Unfortunately I can't carry you all the way there as I am quite busy, and it would take too long to gather the others. But I will transport you as far as I can! Ah! Just in time, I have to drop off a package here quick!"

They soon touched down in a clearing, much more gently this time. Some time during the conversation they had complete changed environments. While before there had been a large meadow and trees, they now found themselves in a odd place. The ground appeared to be made of obsidian, and from the obsidian appeared to be growing giant pineapples made of shimmering crystal.

Nick got out of the sleigh and plunged his hands into the back which seemed to consist of a giant bowl like structure. From within he pulled out a wooden crate, about 10 ft by 10 ft, yet it had somehow fit in the back of the sleigh, which certainly wasn't that big.

Nick placed the crate on the ground. It was here that the crate was marked with the words _**FOR: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.**_ This surprised the three, not expecting see something meant for their Friends.

"Hey! What's the idea?! Why are you leaving a package for our Friends in the middle of nowhere?!"

This was Rainbow Dash.

"They will be passing through here at some time in the future. They will be needing what's in that crate!"

"But, why not just wait for them here? I mean, if there going to be passing through!?" This was Twilight.

"As I said, I simply don't have the time. And they will be needing the things inside of that crate when the time comes! But if you are to get home I must drop you off where I intended."

This seemed to mostly satisfy the Ponies with the exception of Rainbow. Nick got back into the sleigh and they got moving again. Soon the Ponies fell asleep, exhausted after everything they had been through so far.

Nick was looking over them and soon began to speak to his Reindeer.

"They are in great danger."

This got a response from one of the stags.

"Yes I know Dasher, but they really don't know what they're getting into. Honestly who invented this stupid rule in the first place."

Dasher once again gave his thoughts.

"I hope your right. I'm just getting the strangest sense that theres something we don't know. But you are right about one thing, I must have Faith that they can get through this. Still, it will be a difficult journey."

Soon it began to get dark despite here not being any sort of source for the light.

The sleigh flew on until it was nothing but a twinkling light in the distance.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Rarity thought they were lucky to be alive. Though all three of them were vomiting at the moment. Strangely the puke still tasted like chocolate, though it was also still painful. While her Friends had finished emptying their stomachs Fluttershy observed their current location.

The sky was a purple reminiscent of Spike's scales while the ground was black and sort of chalky. They had ended up on a beach of sorts, not too surprising when considering they had dropped into a river, though the liquid had changed from an odd watery yet rich chocolate to a bubbly burning pink mass of thick acidic bubblegum flavored death, or at least that was what Pink Pie had called it. She insisted on not making further contact with it for fear that it would harm them. While they had no real evidence, they trusted Pinkie enough not to question it. Especially when the bubbles popped and from them appeared to wisp a sickly green steam.

Rarity after the ordeal of letting out everything she had eaten in the last few days, somehow, put her self back together, managing to look fabulous despite everything, mostly. Pinkie did something as well after the vomit fest, and while she was cleaner, her hair had somehow ended up crazier and curlier than usual, reminiscent of her childhood self. Soon the three gathered together to convene on their next move.

"Well its clear we're not in Equestria anymore. And while I can't say for certain where we ended up, I will say that our first priority should be to locate the others. Agreed?"

This was Rarity taking charge. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. The party pony was the next to speak.

"I agree with Rarity 100%, but we should probably find food too. After all, we did just regurgitate our entire stomach contents after all!"

Fluttershy, who probably didn't spend nearly enough time with Pinkie looked a little surprised, but completely accepted it, because it was Pinkie. Rarity, who knew her party oriented Friend quite a bite better (You have to to be able to do a spot on Pinkie impression after all) wasn't nearly as surprised. She mostly looked impressed, but she knew that when things were serious Pinkie could pull the most practical of suggestion out of thin air. It was one of her most admirable qualities.

"Brilliant suggestion Pinkie Pie! You are absolutely correct and we shall have to gather rations at the soonest possibility." This caused the pink Pony to smile in a even wider happier fashion. Rarity then turned to Fluttershy. "Now Fluttershy, could you please fly. Specifically high as to ascertain our next path."

Fluttershy nodded and then spoke her agreement.

"O . . ok."

The yellow Pegasus then ascended and surveyed the area. Looking over the beach, she could see a slope the that went up through the cliff that surrounded the beach. It was just around the bend to the south, at least, she thought it was the south. She moved towards the ground again and informed her Friends.

"Um, theres a slope that way beyond the bend."

"Excellent work Darling! Well let us not waist any more time and lets go!"

Rarity lead the way, Pinkie close behind. and Fluttershy going at a sedate, almost nervous pace.

It was quiet for about a minute when it was broken by of all Ponies, Fluttershy.

"Do, do you guys think the others are going to be okay?"

She squeaked a bit when Pinkie burst out in, well, praise.

"Are you kidding! They'll be fine! I mean, even if they're not all together our Friends consist of a bona fide _Cow-pony!_ the _Fastest flyer_ in Equestria! A _Freakily strong Unicorn_ who can remove a Ponies Cutie-mark! A real life _Alicorn Princess!_ AND _ **A DRAGON!**_ "

And then it was quiet, and then it wasn't again.

"OH! And Trixie! So . . . . They should be Ffiiinnnee!"

Despite everything said Fluttershy just look petrified, though that could just be cause Pinkie scared her. Not here specifically, just in general. Seeing this Rarity set about putting her at ease. This was just as they reached the slope.

"They're fine Darling. Pinkie was perhaps a bit overly enthusiastic in her praise."

" ** _NO I wasn't!_** "

"But she is quite right, our Friends are some of the best Equestria has to offer. They're fine, and we don't have to worry about them. We need only to concentrate on our own safety for now."

This got a small timid smile out of the shy Pony. Meanwhile Pinkie had begun to hum a catchy little ditty. They were about hath way up the slope.

"Ooh! What if we encounter a Giant Crab Monster! Or have to jump into a giant Toilet! Or, or, come to face to face with illusions of our greatest fears/future love interests!"

While Fluttershy looked a little worried at the possibility, Rarity just giggled daintily.

"To quote our Dear Friend Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie, you are so random!"

This got a laugh out of all three.

"Yeah! I sure am aren't I!"

They then devolved into a comfortable silence. All seemed, calm.

Just as they were about to reach the top of the slope, Pinkie's tail twitched. Being in a bit too good a mood to seriously consider the possible danger at the moment, she looked to the sky in a rather casual manner. This was a mistake. This became apparent to pinkie Pie as her eyes widened immensely, a sheer look of surprised terror, and maybe betrayal, appeared on her her face. That being the case all she could get out was a rather loud . . . .

 _ **"TWITCHY TAIL!"**_

On pure reflex the other two looked into the air, and that was when something hit Rarity right in the face and nocked her unconscious. Fluttershy screamed as a result.

It was at this moment that Pinkie Pie knew, **_she had Bucked up_**.

The offending item was, as it turned out, a rhubarb pie, ironically. This was clear to Pinkie's expert eye, just as it was obvious to both her and Fluttershy that the sky was filled with even more pies headed right for them, and pretty much everywhere else.

Seeing that Rarity was unconscious and Fluttershy was basically catatonic, again, Pinkie grabbed both her Friends once again and ran for the tree line about 150 feet away. She did this somehow while carrying them under either of her front legs and running upright on her back hooves.

Before we leave these little Ponies Pinkie has these words to say.

 _ **"THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID WE NEEDED TO FIND FOOD!"**_

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

It had taken all _night?_ But Nick had gotten them where he said they needed to go. It seemed to be at the edge of a town, a town that oddly resembled Starlight's old village to an extent. Of course, even from a distance there was a clear difference. It was populated by what appeared to be, _Humans!_

The girls were standing in front of the sleigh, prepared to say goodby to their new found Friend. Before they could however he spoke up.

"Well it seems we must part ways! But before we do, I have gifts for you three!" He then reached into the back and pulled out 6 items.

Rainbow Dash was excited at the news.

"Gifts?!"

Twilight gave her a scolding look she was completely oblivious to, though even Starlight looked excited.

"Ho! Yes, things to help you on your journey!"

First to Twilight he gave a piece of rolled up parchment and a bow & arrow set, complete with lime green quiver.

"To Twilight Sparkle I give a map which will hopefully lead you home, and a bow which will always strike true, But! You must remember to only use it when you need it most."

Twilight nodded in response.

Next to Rainbow he disposed a set of what appeared to be metal wings made to fit her specifically. They were a stone gray with a golden line just below the tops. The second item was was a large shield, bigger than her whole body and in the traditional medieval diamond shape. The font was a shiny black, with the traditional Equestrian symbol of the two royal sisters circling each other, a spike at the center, and surrounded by the same gold inlay as the wings.

"Onto Rainbow dash I bequeath these wing guards and shield, which will protect her body both physically and magically. I suggest you wear the wing guards at all times, trust me, you'll need them. And while you are most definitely more inclined with offense, trust me when I say if you wish to protect your Friends you will need them. Do I have your word?"

Rainbow took him seriously and saluted with her chest puffed out and a hardy smirk upon her muzzle.

"Good!"

He then turned to give Starlight her gifts. They consisted of a rope/grappling hook combination, the hook had the same shiny black as the shield while the rope seemed to be purely white. It was hard, and yet flexible. The second item, was a sword. The sheathe was a maroon red coloring, and pieces of silver that made it resemble a candy cane. It was about as long as she was, and the sheathe opened into a V shape to accommodate the guard, which was at that part also silver. in the center of it was a red crystal. The cross guard were shaped like the wings of a pegasus, one the same color as her coat, the other a brilliant gamboge, a very familiar color. The handle was shaped like a unicorn horn that seemed to be made of white crystal/rock material, while at the tip was a bright yellow crystal gem of sorts.

"And finally we have starlight Glimmer. These items too shall be valuable tools along your journey. Use them wisely, and in the case of the sword remember, should it be damaged collect any and all pieces that may fall from it. Do you understand?"

A, pardon the pun, glimmer of determination seemed to shined in her eye.

"I understand!"

"Good! Then I must be off! Farewell my Friends!"

He then grabbed the reins prepared to take off, when Starlight called out one last time.

"Wait! You wouldn't happen to know what was inscribed on that tree you found us in front of would you?!"

At this he laughed quite vivaciously.

"As a matter of fact I do! It is a sort of, instruction manual, specifically in the the pleasures of the flesh! I hear young lovers go there often to conceive! We were quite lucky that wasn't the case when either of our parties arrived!"

The revelation came with a few interesting results. Twilight had rather amusing face, her left eye twitching and lips suspiciously fish like, and her eyes seemed to have grown to the size of her head . Starlight who had asked was the brightest, most brilliant shade of red, that she literally was glowing. Nick and the Reindeer thought it reminded them of somepony they knew. Rainbow was of course laughing, more than a little happy she was right, and just a bit at her Friends expense.

"Hahaha! Thats hilarious! I love it! Oh man my sides are killing me!"

With this Nick pulled down his goggles and beat the reins. As the stags began to run He yelled out . . .

 _ **"And that my dear Rainbow is why you are on the naughty list! Goodby, and good luck my Friends! May the Force be with you and may You Live Long and Prosper! Ho ho ho!"**_

While the three waved, Rainbow did so with a confused look on her face, and asked the simple, obvious question.

"What does any of that even mean?"

Her Friends just shrugged and started moving towards the town.

As they moved they all got used to their gifts in their own ways.

Rainbow put on the wing guards, which despite being made out of metal didn't feel too heavy. She barely payed attention to the shield as she strapped it to her back. It soon became apparent that it was a bit heavier and required her to temporarily walk to adjust. Starlight wrapped her rope around her body, and then pulled her sword out of the sheathe with her magic to examine it. The blade was so clean and shiny that it reflected her face like a fine mirror. It was almost milky in its shine. Twilight meanwhile was elevating the rolled map in front of her while she counted the number of arrows she had, out loud.

"60 . . 62, 63, 64, 65 .. and, 66 arrows in total. Thats not bad. I should hopefully not have a opportunity to use them, but I'm sure Nick gave them to me for a reason."

Rainbow Dash was the one who responded to her Friends outward thinking.

"Sure Twilight. But can you use it?"

This too caught Starlight's attention. Twilight on the other hoof turned up her chin and with a confident smirk replied.

"I'll have you know that as a filly I took an archery class. It was mostly to spend time with Shining during his training to become a royal guard, but as it turned out I was a natural."

Starlight looked impressed, while Rainbow Dash seemed just a bit more skeptical.

"I'll believe it when I see it!"

Twilight simply rolled her eyes and smirked at Rainbow in a way that made her excited.

They soon reached the town, but the people they had seen earlier seemed to have re-entered their dwellings.

"Maybe they're afraid of, us?"

This was Starlight, who turned to her Friends with a confused face. Twilight raised a brow as she looked around. she soon gave her student her thoughts.

"Perhaps. Humans seem to be the dominant species here. And they probably don't see talking Ponies carrying weapons all that often."

Rainbow was occupied trying to see the humans, who she was more than a little curious about them after Twilights stories about the other world, despite having just having said goodbye to Nick. All of their attentions were pulled elsewhere however when they heard what sounded like a Pssst. They turned their heads to the left, where they saw a sort of general store.

The only living thing in sight was a small black and white dog, though they couldn't tell the breed. As they got closer they saw that it only had one eye. While the left socket was empty, the right was occupied by a fiery red yellow orb, almost like molten lava in its coloring. The three looked at each other, each seeming confused. Rainbow just shrugged. With this Twilight attempted to talk to it.

"Huh, Hello?"

Up to this moment it hadn't looked at her. Now that it had however it began to open its mouth. And from said mouth came . . . .

The call of a Macaw, a meow, and the what might have been a Dragon's roar, before it climbed up the wall like a Spider before disappearing onto the roof. This cause the girls to jump back, Rainbow Dash jumping into Starlight's forelegs.

"Pssst"

There it was again. This time however they were able to discern that it was coming from an old man inside the store who was trying to invite them in without drawing attention to himself.

With this revelation Starlight threw Rainbow to the ground and entered behind her mentor, Rainbow following at her own pace.

As it turned out the store was run by the old man and his wife. They explained to the Ponies that to their kind, Equestrian Ponies, hadn't ventured to this world for millions of Moons. That the last time it had happened had been right after their last king had been dethroned some 1005 years ago. They then for some reason went over his apparent cruelty. Suffice to say, he didn't sound like a nice guy. Anyway, they told the three that everyone who been alive to see the last Ponies were few, and that they themselves were some. This was why most of the town was barred up and afraid. They saw the arrival of the Ponies as a very bad omen. The old couple however decided they would help by giving them a sack of food, no meat, and a water canteen each. They also gave them a small amount of money, supplies to start a fire, and a tent. While Twilight carried most of this, they decided to split the food into three small sacks to make it easier to carry.

After a hour long rest, Twilight plotted their course using the map Nick had given them and found that the fastest way to get to where they needed to go was to the east, which was in the direction behind the store. Because of this they left through the back.

Once the Ponies had gone, the women's face became a frown while her husband began to smirk.

The old woman wasn't happy and she let her husband know it.

"Why did you do that?"

The man turned to his wife.

"You saw them! Ponies! Those fools throughout town may think it an omen of doom. But I see it as a merciful sign that his Majesty will return! And when he does we will prosper again! For that I gave the gifts. I gust wish I didn't have to say those horrible things about his Grace."

"Hmph, prosper my _donkey_! You dream to much! Now, get back to sweeping!"

She shoved the broom into his hands and he obliged, but he was still smiling, Positive he was correct.

We now move above, to the roof of the establishment, where the black and white dog still sat, out of sight of any foolish enough to pass by. The dog's ears seemed to twitch, as though he was listening to something. Meanwhile his only eye seemed to be staring into the middle distance, waiting.

While it wasn't immediately visible, a speck seemed to be speeding towards him. As it got closer it was clear it was round, and blue.

The dog raised it's left paw, and caught the object. Now up close, it was now clear it was his missing eye, a familiar slitted blue. He quickly popped it back in to its original home, where it spun for few seconds before properly orienting itself. The dog then seem to simply walk off the roof where he floated for a few seconds, and then fell, perfectly in front of the stores door.

The dog immediately rose to its feet, except it was no longer a dog. It had become humanoid, but not human.

Not a lot of it was clear, as its form seemed to be constantly shifting, unstable, not unlike a badly damaged piece of film reel. The only permanent fixture was the dark green, nearly black cloak it wore. Its pale, bare, feet with an unclear number of toes. The only thing that didn't seem to change were its hands, which had black claws and instead of 5 standard fingers, 6 spindly spider leg like digits, a thumb on either side of his hands.

He entered, noticed but not looked upon. When the couple did turn to greet him, their faces showed surprise. The man almost immediately fell to his knees, while the woman stood frozen in shock, and fear. Soon however her husband forced her to kneel as well, though he went as far as to prostrate himself.

"My King! I knew you would return! May I serve you as you see fit, I am your humble servant!"

The thing looked around before answering, and when it did it's voice almost sounded, normal, casual, soft even. And yet, like he was putting on a show.

 _ **"Good. I am remembered. I was afraid my subjects had forgotten me. As for serving me my child, you have done more than enough. For your loyal service I shall reward you."**_

It walked closer, brought its hand under his chin, so that it could look the man in the eye.

 _ **"I shall reward you."**_

The old man had closed his eyes, prepared as he was, as his King put his right hand behind his head, and the left under the chin. The women however was crab walking backwards, away from the thing that seemed to be holding her husband's head firmly, yet gently, like one might hold a child.

 _ **"I shall reward you for your loyalty, with a quick, painless, Death."**_

He then snapped the man's neck, it took no more than a second.

It was now quiet, no sound could be heard accept the old woman's heart beat. It grew louder and louder in her chest until it drowned out all she could perceive except the continued beating. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thum . . . . . .

 _ **"Did you think you could hide from me? Esmeralda?"**_

As he said her name he turned his head to look upon her, and slowly, ever so slowly he began to walk towards her. She backed away until she hit the shelf behind her. This made it easier, for him. Soon he reached her, and bent at the knees to look at her face.

 _ **"Look how old you've become."**_

It was again silent, a dark silence filled with, hatred. It was, thick, like the thickest, densest fog. Then, she broke it.

"Hello, your Grace."

He chuckled at this.

 _ **"Your Grace? My, haven't we grown formal. Or, have you grown cold since I've been gone? Since you imprisoned me."**_

She finally looked at him with this, a look of vicious contempt in her eyes.

"I didn't imprison you!"

 _ **"No, not directly. But you**_ ** _certainly helped them do it. One of my own wives, betrayed me. Imagine my surprise, imagine my, sorrow."_**

"I wasn't your wife, I was only one of your 17 concubines! I meant nothing to you!"

He shook his head at this.

 _ **"That simply isn't true. I loved you, all of you. We had individual**_ ** _ceremonies, I baked eight of the cakes myself. I had no bias, no preference, just Love, perhaps not romantic Love, but Love for each of you all the same. Equally. But you wanted more. You knew I would outlive each of you, and you wanted more. You wanted to be my Immortal Queen, at my side for eternity. You weren't angry, you were jealous. Jealous I wouldn't give you what you wanted, so you betrayed me my Love. More than that though, you feared death, to the point you wouldn't see reason. To the point that you turned to Byron. And like he and the others who betrayed me, imprisoned me. You all had no selfless intentions like you claimed to the ignorant/innocent masses, bur selfish desires that drove you. With the exception of the poor innocent 7 who were manipulated into it, you all had the gall to turn against me, and for that you will suffer. All of you who still live."_**

He then stood, and raised his left arm above his head. From his hand appeared two knife like blades of shimmering milky white.

Finally the defiant face she wore fell away to reveal what she was really feeling, fear.

He smiled like a shark, and his next words hurt her more than he would ever know.

 _ **"Most think that love and hate are opposites. But in reality the**_ ** _opposite of love is indifference, while hate is more a dark reflection of love, a corruption of it. In reality the only difference between the two is intent. And at the moment my intent is, your suffering."_**

She grabbed his legs like a dog, which is an insult to dogs really, in a last ditch effort to save her own life.

"Please my Love! Spare me! I will do anything you desire of me!"

With this his face of indifference broke, showing what could only be described as the mask of, a Demon.

 _ **"Long Live The King."**_

And so he swung his arm, and a wave of fresh, red, blood painted the shelf.

Of course, she was still alive. And she would be for hours more, suffering in a slow agonizing kind of death.

The blades on his hand seemed to be smoking, the blood staining them evaporating, before the blades themselves disappeared into black dust. He went to leave, but stopped before a basket of apples. He looked at it quite intensely, before grabbing a green one and rubbing it on his chest. He then headed for the back door.

He took a bite of his apple and chewed. As he walked out into the bright green sunlight, he swallowed and an amusing thought passed through his head, and he chuckled as he had the urge to voice it.

 _ **"Tonight, I dine on horse meat."**_

He then began to laugh hysterically at his own joke as he walked down the rode towards his prey.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** I breathe a sigh of relief, that took way too long as far as I am concerned.

Anyway, please review. They motivate me to continue and I love hearing all your thoughts.


	3. Slides, Jabberwocky, & Pixie dust Oh my!

Rarity wasn't in the best of moods. True, she didn't have the greatest reason in the world to complain. She and her Friends were alive. And thanks Rain-Pies as Pinkie had called them they weren't exactly lacking for want of food (with each of them carrying a few pies on their backs). So what reason did she have to be as she would put it, just a bit miffed. That would be partially because of the black eye she received due to the pie that had nocked her unconscious, Rhubarb of all flavors. That and she had a head injury, at least according to Pinkie. Of course she trusted her explicitly, though she had to take her word for it as Pinkie Pie said she had seen the symptoms in her travels, but would not exposit further. Of course, the real reason Rarity was feeling just a bit on the salty side was cause the apparent head injury had apparently caused most she said to come out wrong. She herself was only aware of it some of the time, and while she (Pinkie)herself understood some of it, most of the things said by the the fashionista went over even the Party pony's head. For this reason Rarity had stayed silent for some time, and why she was in a less than ideal mood.

The silence had gone on after the Rain-Pies as Fluttershy seemed to be traumatized by the falling pies to the point that she didn't look at them while she ate. Pinkie on the other hoof seemed to be pretty chipper, her humming the only sound heard by our insipid travelers, apparently respecting her Friends odd states.

They had only needed to hide from the pies for about hath an hour. And it had taken 5 times that for Rarity to awaken. She took another forty minutes to recover before they finally got on the move.

They found themselves walking on what appeared to be large salt crystals, about the size of marbles, with orange and purple palm trees spread far apart. Rarity thought the trees were appalling as the colors simply didn't go together, but didn't voice it as she was afraid of what might leave her mouth.

Rarity also noted with a keen eye that she still couldn't see the sun, despite fealing that at least a day had passed since that had nearly drowned in the chocolate river. And the more she saw the more she felt unsettled in this place they found themselves, to the point that the passing thought of if Discord were with them even he wouldn't be comfortable crossed her mind. Then it occurred to her that he would probably just make it comfortable, for him anyway. Or better yet just open a portal and take them home.

Of course, Rarity was making the assumption that he could get them home. After all, this place simply seemed, wrong. But hey, what she doesn't know can't hurt her.

Pinkie was mostly fine. She had two of her Friends and while it could be better, she knew it could also be worse. Much, much worse. She was worried just a tab about Flutershy, and while Rarity was in a bad mood, she knew that she just needed some time to calm down and adjust. Fluttershy though, she was quiet, but never to the point that Pinkie was afraid that if she didn't keep her in her peripheral vision she would be gone. A real possibility in this place, Pinkie was sure. For the moment she was allowing the Pegasus to deal as best she could, but soon she would have to do something to make her Friend feel better.

While her Pinkie sense hadn't been active since Rain-Pies, she got the unnerving sensation that this place was beyond even her abilities.

Any further pondering was interrupted however as they soon stoped, as before them was a field of flowers. They seem to be some variant of sun flowers, though they hadn't bloomed yet. Also they were about the size of a small Pony.

Just as they were about to continue the flowers opened up and the three Ponies found themselves in awe at the sight of their beauty. Each flower seemed to have just five petals each the colors golden yellow, bright orange, scarlet red, hot pink, and stark white with each petal changing to the next color in the sequence every six seconds. The center of the flowers were a brilliant silver, literally! They seemed to be made of silver.

Before anypony could say a thing another surprise happened as the flowers seemed to begin to shake. It was soon apparent that these flowers seemed to know they were there as they seemed to, in the blink of an eye, became like, snakes.

Being scared the three's initial reaction was to close their eyes. However, in that tiny bit of self imposed darkness they felt themselves be grabbed, _gently_ , and begin to slide forward.

Soon curiosity got them to look, two of them anyway. And what they saw made them look on in even greater awe than before. The flowers seemed to have come together to form a tunnel slide that shimmered and shined with the light of the colors and the silver making brilliant and unimaginable displays.

Not wanting their Friend to miss out, Pinkie tried to get her to open her eyes and remove her hooves to witness the gorgeous private show they were currently experiencing.

"Oh my gosh! Hey Fluttershy! You're missing something wonderful! The flowers are a light show! Ooh, No! They're like, like, like a personal Sonic Rainboom that you travel through, but with less colors!"

The smile slipped off Pinkie's face seeing that her Friend hadn't moved, well, not of her free will anyway. This troubled her, and so she contemplated the best way to approach this. This was especially the case because she didn't want Fluttershy to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Rainbow sucks shleep eggstuck off my back with my hurst tongue!"

This managed to get both the Earth-Pony, and Pegasus's attention. Of course, Fluttershy quickly forgot about what her Friend had said however as she finally saw what was happening around her. Her eyes soon grew big and bright with joy, which was made all the clearer by the huge toothy smile upon her face.

Rarity meanwhile, had covered her mouth with her hooves and had begun to blush quite profusely in embarrassment (though ironically she accomplished her goal when she had opened her mouth to speak) to the point that she was beginning to resemble Pinkie. Speaking of Pinkie Pie . . . .

Seeing that her Pegasus Friend was happy once again Pinkie turned to look at her Fashionista Friend and said "Good job Rarity!" while throwing out one of her front hooves in an attempt at some sort of gesture pointing in her Friend's direction.

Rarity then went from looking embarrassed to confused. Seeing this Pinkie looked at the end of her outstretched hoof in puzzlement, and then sudden realization and began to smile again as she switched to a salute.

For some reason this caused the one sound that couldn't come out wrong from Rarity's throat to pop fourth. This of course being laughter, which caused Pinkie to join in.

Between the splendor of their situation and her Friends laughing voices echoing off the flower walls, Fluttershy couldn't help but be next in the chain of laughter.

This went on for awhile.

Soon the bright tunnel of flowers deposited them back to the grass, in front of a line trees. Said trees resembled long decaying broccoli stocks. Rarity looked on with no small degree of disgust. Fluttershy seemed to have reached her normal mix of nervous and uncomfortable, while at the same time seeming at ease because of her Friends presence. Truly the butter colored Pegasus was a strange creature, only outdone by her Pink Friend, though in my opinion its debatable who between the two was truly crazier.

Anyway, Pinkie was observing it all with a curiosity and wonder only achievable by one who truly enjoyed life to its fullest. Because of this she was able to notice something significant much sooner than her Friends and thus made them aware of it.

"Hey girls! Come check this out! Its a sign!"

As the two came to their Friend's side they found that it was indeed a sign. It was was made of wood and set in the ground. It stood about a foot taller than the ponies.

Seeing that they could understand what was written on the piece of wood, they took it upon themselves to read what it said in its bold red lettering.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **WARNING!**

 **Beyond the** **boundary of the Coli-IQ Bush-trees you will find yourself in the Tulgey Fire Swamp of Sadness.**

 **Here lives some of the most fe** **rocious creatures found in Axis Mundi, most prominently the**

 **Jabberwocky.**

 **Only the most mad would move past this point.**

 **If you've reached this point somehow you're clearly a completely different sort of Mad entirely, so go right ahead.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was quiet as the Ponies absorbed the information imprinted upon the sign. They silently stood weighing their options, Rarity taking the time to look in each direction on either side of the sign and so, Rarity was the one to finally break the dreadful silence.

"Well we clearly can't go around the swamp. So unfortunately we must go through it."

Turning to look at her Friends, Rarity found them staring at her in a most befuddled manner. In her current state she couldn't comprehend why. Of, she soon didn't need to as Pinkie made it quite clear in an instant.

"Wow Rarity! You talked normally again!"

The Fashionista blinked a bit at that, not quite understanding her Friend's words. This was more due to her head injury than anything else.

" _Shpool guard shwim gurl_?"

Pinkie frowns.

"And now your back to making no sense what so ever." (and this was coming from Pinkie Pie) And unsurprisingly Pinkie bounces back and is smiling again in seconds, with just a bit giggling added for effect. "Oh well! It still sounds pretty funny! And I think your right.. We've got no choice but to go through the swamp. Right Fluttershy?"

Jumping ever so slightly having not expected to be addressed in the decision making process Fluttershy took her time to answer.

"Um, We . . .well, I agree that we should go through the swamp. Its our only option really."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically and then yelled out "Then lets GO!" She then began her characteristic hopping toward the home of the apparent _Jabberwocky._ Her Friends sent each other a quick look, before smiling and following at a sedate relaxed pace.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Currently in a bush along a plain dirt path with occasional hills hid a predator. It resembled a panther, with the exception of it's canine like muzzle, and hollow lime green eyes. Also, it had three tails and six legs.

At the moment the creature was observing what it saw as prey. It's possible next meal was a lone humanoid figure, dark, and as far it was concerned sounded like a bird. In it's mind it was an easy kill so, it waited for the prey to pass its current location, and for the prey to get a little bit ahead. As it prepared to pounce upon the biped not a shred of fear or hesitation in it's primitive stupid mind.

This creature was unaccustomed to anything dangerous (to it) entering it's territory. So obviously the biped was no different.

And so, it leapt, maw opened wide and claws out and at the ready.

In an instant however things changed. The biped had stopped moving and stood completely still. No longer was it whistling and making the music of the birds. The thing on two legs also seemed to be looking back at the creature mid pounce, then the light came. It was bright and blinding, and seemed to be emanating from the so called, prey.

When the light finally subsided and reality came back into focus, the beastly cat hit the ground less than a foot from the biped. The thing in green was looking at it's would be killer, which seemed to have been, for lack of a better term, flash fried. The thing seemed to be looking at it with a semblance of curiosity, head tilted almost in a innocent fashion. This went on for about a minute or so before the thing began to bend at the knees, and with a freakish six clawed hand took hold of the nearest ankle joint, and tore the leg from the steaming corspe.

He then once again stood and proceeded to move on, teeth sinking into the leg as though it was part of a perfectly cooked bird, and despite having a full mouth started to whistle again, and clearly without any distortion. The humanoid thing was currently on the trail of his own prey, a unsuspecting trio of Ponies. And unlike the cat, they would not be so lucky . . . . . . .

. . . to die so quickly.

 _ **MLP:FIM**_

Since they had entered the swamp things had been fairly peaceful, despite the warning sign. They'd only encountered one remarkably large, _rat?_ Which Rarity had the pleasure of slaying. Of course, as indicated, one couldn't nessarily tell if it was a rodent. It could have easily been a cat it was so mangey.

But nothing much else had occurred since.

Deeper into the swamp it seemed far more, normal, compared to the outsides surrounding it. Each step they took seemed to cover their hooves in another layer of muck. And while Rarity had grown out of her stronger distaste for the muck thanks to her Friends and Sweetiebelle, the current level of mud and slime clinging to her was most certainly too much. Even the normally at ease Pinkie Pie was uncomfortable. Interestly the one most at ease was Fluttershy of all Ponies. Though, why that was could only be guessed at.

The surrounding trees were tall, and seemed to be oaks of some sort. Above vines and growth seemed to block out nearly all light, though even before they had entered the swamp they had never seen a sun.

Suddenly, _something_ blocked their path. It was quite hot, and quite close. Fluttershy jumped/flew at least 20 feet before stopping.

As it turned out, the thing blocking their path was a pillar of Fire that seemed to be coming from a easily missable hole in the ground. Because of this Rarity looked more than a bit irritated. And so she began expressing her irritation verbally just as Fluttershy made it back to the ground.

"That shpit sizzle gumboil ringer strawchumickser! Vas spizna sac rum sa mooreze!"

She yelled this so loudly that Fluttershy looked both scared and confused. Pinkie on the other hoof had a wide eyed look of surprise in her blue eyes.

"She said ahmm . . . . something not nice about the sign, and the Pony who made it. And she was really mad because of how we nearly walked right into the fire."

Pinkie was now smiling wide with her eyes closed. Fluttershy and Rarity were themselves looking at her in utter amazement.

"You can understand her?"

This was Fluttershy who couldn't grasp the concept, though to be fair she can't really grasp much when it comes to Pinkie Pie.

"Not mostly, but sometimes it just comes through loud and clear. You know?"

Here Fluttershy looked a bit confused, and slightly irritated.

"No, not really."

Pinkie blinked, and then Pony-shrugged as though to say _K, suite yourself._

Then another fire pillar burst from the ground about five feet from the first. This was Rarity's response.

"Da tweedel schnitzel gozz!"

Fluttershy of course jumped once again, though not as high. Pinkie reread up on her back hooves and shielded her face with her front ones, looking like a squirrel was trying to claw it off, she has experience. She was also hyperventilating just a bit.

"Wa kabon sa noh thup?"

The terrified looking Fluttershy looked to Pinkie for a translation. Noticing this, Pinkie composed herself and cleared her throat before speaking.

"I understood that one. She asked what that was. Luckily I have an answer."

Fluttershy blinked and asked "You do?" Which immediately got a response from Pinkie.

"Of course silly!" This response spooked Fluttershy just a bit. But, that didn't stop Pinkie from continuing. "You see its like a guesser field, only with fire instead of hot water." She then proceeded to point to several spots in the direction they were formerly headed in. "I count about, 30 of them! And the last one came about four minutes after the first. So I'd say we have about a minute, maybe a minute and a hath before another of those things burst!" Both of her Friends were looking at her in abject amazement.

Because of their situation Fluttershy felt the need to ask "Hmm, ah. Wha . . .What we do then?" Pinkie did not hesitate.

"We go through of course!"

Rarity looked at her like she was actually crazy, a rare occurrence among those who truly knew Pinkie. And Fluttershy, well Fluttershy looked like she had actually died standing up. Seeing her Friends faces, she knew she had to explain, for once.

"It'd take way too long to get around it, and we could be here even longer if we change direction! So heres what we need to do. Rarity, do you still have your watch?" The mare became confused, but trusted the Earth-pony enough to simply nod. "Great! So heres the plan. We wait for the next guesser to go off and we enter the field. Using her watch Rarity will inform us 20 seconds before each guesser so we can freeze. And hopefully, we don't get to experience a horribly horrible death by fire!"

Pinkie was smiling, but under the circumstances it was clear that even she was nervous, if only a little. But seeing as she had a point about how long they could be stuck there Rarity nodded in consent. This made Pinkie's smile just a bit more genuine.

Rarity however then turned to Fluttershy, giving her a look that said _we're doing this._ Fluttershy knew better than to question at this point and nodded as well.

"Great!" Screamed out the jubilant party Pony.

With this the three gathered in front of the guesser that had gone off in front of them the first time. They waited, until the next guesser went off, luckily far away from them, and they began to move. Fluttershy went with floating jumps curtesy of her wings, while Rarity placed dainty, careful steps around each guesser. Pinkie meanwhile used her usual hopping method, I be it more carefully.

"Spop!"

This was Rarity signaling their need to, well stop. And so the three mares stopped. When the 20 seconds were up a guesser slightly behind them in the left most corner of the field went off, which of course set off Fluttershy who cried out and hopped forward, not entirely unlike Pinkie Pie all things considered. As the three moved forward they each dealt with the situation in their own way. Rarity tried to remain composed, both for herself, and her Friends. Pinkie was looking at everything at once, her eyes darting around quite erratically. Fluttershy definitely had it the worse as she was flying, not even letting her hooves touch the ground anymore, and was sweating profusely. Her eyes were also looking anywhere but the ground.

Oddly, this didn't just seem to calm her, but distract her. She began to look less nervous. This proceeded until she worked up the courage to speak.

"Um, girls?"

"Whats up Fluttershy?"

"I've been looking at the trees, and there are no birds."

Rarity raised an eye-brow and asked "Shonz?" But Flutters basically got the gist of it anyway.

"Well, its just, when we first arrived in the swamp I noticed a number of strange looking birds. But now for some reason they're gone."

Pinkie was currently examining the the trees a little more critically.

"Now that you mention it, it iissssss a lot quieter."

Rarity responded by squinting intensely upward.

Despite the examination, none of them were able to offer up a explanation. But, because they were focussing so much on the trees, they weren't paying attention to the guessers. And so, when they should have been stopping, they were moving. So when the next guesser went off, it hit the optimal target, Fluttershy.

Or rather, Fluttershy's wing. Specifically her left one. They sent her straight back to ground where she let out a horrible cry of intense pain. Her Friends were at her side in less than a second. As they looked over the now crying Pegasus, they didn't notice the sound of heavy guttural _breathing_.

"Oh my gosh Darling! Are you okay?"

This got Pinkie giving herself whiplash to look at Rarity

"OK?! _Does she freakin look okay Rarity!"_

The baker/party planner looked truly distressed as only a situation like this could make her. But, they never quite got a chance to continue as the source of the _breathing_ made itself known.

It dropped from the trees. It had a long worm like body. Thin bony arms to which attached four hair covered claws a piece. Its head was quite fish like with beady little eyes and a round suction cup like mouth full of deadly curved teeth and whiskers hanging off it's cheeks. It was armored with scales colored a disgusting shade of purple. Truly insulting to the likes of Spike and Twilight really.

Fluttershy of course, screamed. Though, that could be because the creature was reaching out for her with a claw.

Rarity, not wasting any time, ran to defend her terrified Friend and went too kick the offending claw.

Rarity found an odd sensation in her back legs as she had expected for it to be over quickly. Being that she had closed her eyes as she has prepared to buck, and found her legs stuck in that position, she obviously questioned what happened. Opening her eyes and looking behind her, she found that her legs had been caught by the creature. It was Rarity's turn to scream.

 _"Rarity! NNOOO!"_ This was a _supremely_ _distressed_ Pinkie Pie.

Realizing that this was the dreaded Jabberwocky mentioned in the warning, Pinkie sprung into action and yelled out **"RARITY! _I'LL SAVE YOU!_ " **and was nearly upon the beast! Now, you all might be wondering where Fluttershy was in all this. Well, in a sever state of panic she fled via flight. The fear and adrenaline overriding the pain from her damaged wing. This was why she was abandoning her Friends as well. That, and deep down her instincts informed her that her usual methods wouldn't work on the Jabberwocky, not that she knew that was what it was.

Then again, I don't think she knows who she is at the moment either.

Pinkie had reached the Jabberwocky and In doing so she hopped onto it's free claw and proceed to give it a left uppercut of sorts with all her mighty Earth-pony strength honed from her youth on the rock farm.

 _It wasn't very effective._

The Jabberwocky responded by backhanding her, sending her flying into the trees.

Coincidently with the same claw that currently held Rarity.

Pinkie ended up entangled in the vines, struggling to escape. So, she did the only thing she could.

Bight through them.

"Don't worry Rarity! I'll think of something!"

Feeling intensely nauseated after being swung around like a rag doll, if only as a consequence, the white Mare opted to stay silent. So instead of speaking and risking both word vomit and regular vomit, Rarity just prayed that Pinkie acted quickly. Of course, this was when the Jabberwocky decided to reorient the Pony by tossing her up in the air and catching her fully in it's clawed appendage. Rarity seriously considered vomiting towards the thing when she realized it was moving her towards it's wide open mouth.

So she screamed again.

Hearing her Friend's cry, Pinkie looked down and knew that she had to do something **NOW!** So she did what she does best.

Talk.

"Hey! **Hey you!**

This definitely caught its attention.

 **"Yeah! I'm talking to you ya _ugly worm, thing!_ "**

The jabberwocky knew it was being insulted. One does not need intelligence tell such things, only an existing sense of pride. And so it began to climb back into the trees towards the Pink Party Pony named Pinkie, while Pinkie herself went back to biting away at the the vines. Rarity, became all the more nauseas.

The Pink Pony was lucky as she had been sent quite high, and the Jabberwocky was quite slow. Knowing she needed a idea soon, otherwise she would find herself and Rarity being, . . . . . . gulp. . . . . . . . . digested, she tried to come up with something as she worked to free herself. It was here, in her struggle to become free, that she saw the means of dealing with the Jabberwocky. A tree.

Some of you might be thinking, _duh! There are trees everywhere. Its a forest_ (even though its actually a swamp) _._ And you would be correct, rude, but correct. But it wasn't a normal tree for starters. As noted by Pinkie the tree in question wasn't as thick as the others, though it was still about as big as 4 Ponies in circumference. It was also old and full of holes, dying. It was tall enough to reach past the point in which she was entangled and slightly tilted at an angle in the same direction. This was when the epiphany struck her. But she would need . . .

 **"FLUTTERSHY!"**

This managed to catch the traumatized Pony's attention. Instead of replying she just stared with an unblinking gaze.

"Listen! I need you to go to that tree on the opposite side to where I am!" She pointed with one of her hoof. "And wait for my order. Once I give it you need to push with ALL your might at, _that_ , spot!" She then pointed to a more specific spot where on their side was a hole, but on the directed side was a good portion of bark helping the tree maintain a shaky structural stability.

Fluttershy had turned to look at the tree and then turned to look back at Pinkie Pie, really looked at her, and seemed to be greatly apprehensive.

 _"I, I do . . don't think . . ."_

While Fluttershy stuttered in poor attempt to express her fears, Pinkie's expression morphed into a rare case of irritation. Inside that irritation was flowing into true anger as her patience slipped away until . . .

"Then Don't Think! Listen! We are in danger! **We're All In Danger! AND UNLESS YOU GET YOUR FLUTTERY BUTT IN GEAR WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE! SO GET OVER THERE AND WAIT FOR THE ORDER SO _THAT IT_** **_DOESN'T_ _HAPPEN!_ "**

Pinkie then went back to biting through the vines not paying her Friend any further attention. Fluttershy's face shifted through a variety of expressions including, well, all of them. She didn't know what to do. She considered everthing, her eyes shifting everywhere. Then, something remarkable happened. She hardened her expression and went to the designated spot.

Pinkie had made great progress. She had not just cleared most of the vines but had also shaped them into a sort of cradle. She herself was still sort of tangled but that was next. It was almost time for her to give Flttershy the order.. Pinkie had truly outdone herself with this. The cradle was positioned next to her and consisted of a remarkable number of intact vines. It was at an odd angle and curved facing away from the designated tree.

Pinkie observed her work and smiled genuinely, until she heard the roar of the approaching Jabberwocky. She currently had herself dangling near the lower end of the cradle, holding onto the end of a vine with her tail. She knew now was the time.

"Alright Flutters! Knock it _ **DOWN!**_ "

Hearing the command Fluttershy readied herself. She didn't have Rainbow's raw speed and she knew she didn't have Aj's sheer strength to buck it, and she certainly didn't posses the magical ability, being a Pegasus and all. So she did what she could, that being ram the thing with her whole body.

"Ow."

She said this softly, unheard by the world around her. When she opened her eyes however she was horrified by the fact that the tree was just as barely intact as before. It didn't seem to be affected at all. She quickly then in a newly ignited panic state looked to Pinkie who was looking at the approaching monster with nothing but anger and determination in her eyes. She then looked at the horrendous creature clutching poor Rarity, and then back at the tree.

It was mocking her in its stillness. It didn't think she had what it takes to knock it down. It thought she was a whimpering waste of space. That she wasn't worth the sperm that fertilized her mother's egg. Suddenly, Fluttershy's panic partially morphed into something similar to Pinkie's determination, and she readied herself for another go, her eyes tightly shut.

Just as Fluttershy went to move again, this time with just a little more speed, a sound permeated the air. It wasn't necessarily loud, in fact no creature heard it. It was the sound of cracking wood, as it turned out the first blow had worked just with a, _delayed reaction_.

Because of this Fluttershy essentially just barreled past the thing, and careened like a locomotive into the next tree, much more sturdy, and landed on a branch not far below her. In her current state she didn't really know what happened.

This wasn't helped by the branch she landed on breaking under her weight which caused her to let out a _squeak_ as she headed for the ground.

The now hath toppled tree headed exactly where Pinkie expected it to, right into her cradle of vines, its broken jagged former top pointed nearly at the ground. A few vines snapped under the sudden increase in weight, but most of it held. Hearing it and the seeing the thing from out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie waited once again. This time, for the opportune moment. She waited for the Jabberwocky to get a bit closer, and into the right spot. As she did this she also lifted herself by her tail just a bit so that her muzzle was level with a single vine. Said vine was the most structurally integral part of the whole thing, for if it went away, so did the whole cradle.

Finally, came the opportune moment.

Pinkie before putting down her foe knew she needed his attention one more time.

 _"Hey **c*%K** Sucker!"_

This caught the Jabberwocky's attention. It also relieved Rarity who's nausea had only increased since the climb began.

"Why don't you Choke on my _**Wood!**_ "

On the ground the oh so stressed Fluttershy blushed at the proclamation.

Meanwhile Pinkie bit through the vital vine, sending the makeshift spear speeding towards her target, who unluckily caught it in his mouth. This resulted in the Jabberwocky loosing it's grip and speeding towards the ground in a hurry. It also lost it's hold of Rarity in the process.

Pinkie seeing her Friend falling launched herself and managed to catch her Friend in her front hooves.

Of course, they landed not far from where Fluttershy was currently sprawled on her back, a vacant look in her eyes.

Pinkie seemed to be decompressing.

Rarity looked more than a little green, but only a bit traumatized.

This jumped up a scale just a bit as she let out a sort of dainty scream while looking wide eyed in a particular direction. Pinkie and Flutters looked that way, only to find that the foe they had been facing was somehow still alive, barely, and reaching out for them.

The Jabberwocky was pinned to the ground, make shift spear going in through the mouth and coming out through the throat area. One eye was apparently dead while the other was locked on the Ponies. It's other front limb had been crushed under it's massive body, and a pool of dark, nearly black liquid was pooling from somewhere underneath it's head.

Don't worry though, the girls are quite lucky Ponies.

See, it had been awhile since the last guesser had gone off and, well . . . . .

In the air came an audible pop.

What followed was each and every guesser going off at the same time with a brilliant and bright glowing pillar of plasma each the color of the sun. Pinkie and Rarity both jumped on top of Fluttershy and Rarity activated a magical shield. They all held their eyes shut magnificently tight, but the death wail of their foe was so loud as to haunt them.

It took awhile but eventually everything died down. Not long after Rarity let down her shield and the three all separated from their group hug of desperation. Pinkie began to laugh hysterically in joy at their apparent survival. Rarity, began to cry to the same degree, resulting in the former grabbing the latter in a bear hug of comfort. Fluttershy meanwhile stayed in the same position she had been in the whole time. Sprawled on her back, wings spread, though her eyes were now slightly less glassy. In fact, she began to laugh, and cry at the same time. Pinkie felt it was best to leave her alone for a bit, at least until she calmed down, like a lot.

This was when Rarity threw up, thankfully not on her comfort companion.

At this point the two separated and Pinkie giggled in a slightly more subdued manner.

"You okay Rarity?'

"Yes Pinkie, but only thanks to you. I hope you can forgive me for that most unladylike display."

"Aww Rarity, Thats hardly unforgivable. You could puke all over me and I would forgive you for sure anyway! But please don't puke on me, k?"

Rarity wiped away her tears with a giggle and said "Thank you Darling, it means the world to me that you are so understanding."

"Phif, think nothing of it. And besides, I'm not the only one who saved you! Flutter-butt over there was also responsible!"

They both turned to Fluttershy, who in turn, did not look at them.

"Thank you Fluttershy. I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your efforts!"

With this endorsement from her milk coat colored Friend Flutters finally looked at them both and simply said "Thank you." And smiled, I'll be it a slightly shaky one. The two moved over to her and helped her to her hooves. It was Rarity who decided to get them moving again.

"Well, we've all been through an ordeal but I think it's high time we get moving again. No reason to let another terrible beastie catch us unawares."

"Right you are Rare! Right Flutters?"

While both looked befuddled at the introduction of these new nick names, the former seemed to find it amusing with a raised eyebrow. Fluttershy on the other hoof just looked confused but let out a "Sure." Anyway, the three got on the road again. They ran as far away from the guesser field as they could before slowing down and moving at a more relaxed pace.

Finding the quiet more than a bit unnerving after everything that had happened, Flutter decided to start a conversation for once, choosing to forget that the last time she did ended with a burnt wing.

"So uh, Pinkie Pie?" This got the party planner's attention. "Why the, uh, nick names?" Pinkie blinked before smiling wider as usual and saying "Don't know! I just got the strangest sense that they would become relevant soon!" She then shrugged her haunches in a sort of give up gesture before looking forward again.

Fluttershy blinked before smiling in an absolutely adorable way, only having this to say.

"Oh Pinkie Pie, you are so random."

She said this softly and with affection. Pinkie responded with a giggle and this.

"Silly Fluttershy. That's Dashie's line!"

She hopped as she always would, making it a fair distance. However, her second hop was stalled as she found herself stuck. Looking down she saw that her hooves were trapped in a sticky mud like substance.

" ** _Oh come on!_** "

Pinkie yelled this to the heavens, as though calling out to some unknown holy entity (just me I'm afraid), but too late for her Friends as they were just as stuck as she.

"Well thiz hopscotch mugi juice."

This was Rarity, who looked up in repose to her own spoken statement as it seemed she was back to spewing nonsense.

"Why does stuff like this always happen to us?" Asked the remarkably calm Pegasus. In response the peeved pink one offered this. "Comes with being the protagonists probably. Though I have the strangest suspicion this isn't the work of our usual writers." Her two fellow prisoners gave her a look that said they would never truly understand her fully, while she gave them a look that siad it was probably best not to ask. That was when Fluttershy saw something and looked up in surprise.

"Uh, girls."

And so her Friends too looked up and saw what had peaked her attention. To their surprise there was a message of sort just kind of floating in mid air in bright yellow text.

 **IF YOU WISH TO ESCAPE THIS FATE**

 **Y** **OU NEED TO FLY AWAY. ALL YOU NEED TO**

 **FLY IS A HAPPY LITTLE THOUGHT.**

 **ANY OLD THOUGHT AT ALL.**

 **IF THERE BE MORE THAN ONE IN YOUR PARTY**

 **HOWEVER IT IS SUGGESTED THAT ALL OTHERS SHOULD HOLD ONTO THE**

 **ONE WITH THE** **HAPPIEST THOUGHTS.**

Seeing this, Rarity and Fluttershy moved to hold onto Pinkie, though they had to push through the thick malleable material they were stuck in to do so. Pinkie looked at them at this, before a look of realization came upon her face.

"Aw, you guys! That is so sweet. Okay let me think! I need a reel good one to get us out of here!"

With that Pinkie closed her eyes and began to concentrate on the happiest thought she could come up with. Not wanting to make her do all the work Rarity and Fluttershy too began to concentrate with their eye's closed. Because of this none of them noticed a peculiar golden dust that seemed to shimmer into existence at their feet. Of course, if one were to look up they might see a rather small, unique creature with transparent wings and, what might have been a tail But I couldn't say for certain. Regardless the girls didn't at all notice that they were beginning to be pulled from the, goo, they were stuck in. It was as though the power of gravity was being negated by happy thoughts, _and the dust_.

It was almost like an air powered rocket. build pressure enough and it just might . . . . . burst.

Oh deer.

And so the girls flew, though not entirely of their own fee will, screaming all the way.

Well really just Pinkie.

In joy, mostly.

Rarity clung to her Pink Friend intensely while looking down all the while, in sheer terror. Fluttershy on the other hoof was hyperventilating to a dangerous degree, with her eyes closed tightly to the point that it was beginning to hurt. And while her Friends will never admit if it happened or not, she may have urinated mid-flight.


	4. The Fool, or the Fool who Follows?

Starlight was nervous.

Well, maybe nervous wasn't the right word. But instead of describing her emotions with a number of descriptive dictionary words, let me just tell you what was happening.

Currently they had been traveling away from the village for nearly hath a day on a rather uninteresting path, though they had encountered a rather vicious six legged cat of sorts. They'd left it unconscious on the road. Rainbow was bored, but composed herself surprisingly well. She was currently examining her shield. Twilight however, was the problem. She had been studying the map Nick had given them for over an hour. This wasn't a problem in the strongest sense of the word, but every instinct Starlight had told her that this could be a disaster.

Deciding it would be best if she addressed this problem now rather than later, Starlight asked her Teacher directly.

"Twilight, I know that memorizing the map is important, but don't you think that you've been at it long enough?"

This got the Princess's attention. It even drew the attention of the ever distracted Rainbow Dash.

"Oh I memorized the map about an hour ago. But I was thinking. And it seems that Nick didn't highlight the fastest possible route to our destination. So I was figuring out a much more efficient way to this temple we're headed for."

Starlight's face wasn't disapproving exactly, but a raised eyebrow showed that she was somewhat skeptical.

"OK. But don't you think that Nick gave us the map as it was because it was the safest route in question?"

Twilight simply smiled and shook her head just a bit.

"But then he would have told us about the danger Starlight. Thus when the opportunity arises we simply have to enter the labyrinth to get to where we need to go."

The made Starlight show some surprise.

"Labyrinth? You want us to go through a _LABYRINTH!?_ "

"Yessss . . . why? Do you think there will be a problem?"

"Labyrinth! Twilight, how could a labyrinth be the fasted way through to our destination?"

Twilight Smiled again, not at all deterred.

"Oh Starlight don't you worry. I've got this all figured out. One of my favorite myths involves the Hero navigating a labyrinth and using twine to leave a trail that will lead him out after dealing with a monster. So all we have to do is mark the walls with our magic to find the route out of the labyrinth! So as long as we don't get lost, which we won't, we should be able to reach Home in only a third of the time."

Starlight was partially convinced. She could see the logic of the idea, but she still had this nagging thought in the back of her mind that told her that this would not go well. But for the life of her she couldn't think of a viable reason not to do it, so she tried to ignore this intuition as she spoke aloud her consent.

"Alright, but let's be careful ok? I've got a bad feel about this."

With this the cyan colored Pegasus spoke up.

"Hey! Whats to worry about? We've faced things way more dangerous than this, you included Starlight!"

Having reached a point where her shame was mostly buried under a fair amount of embarrassment Starlight merely blushed. In response Twilight gave Rainbow a slightly dark look before moving her eyes to her student.

"What I think Rainbow Dash is trying to say is that theres nothing to worry about. We've got this!"

Starlight gave a smile, I'll be it a small one, and let her worries exit her mind. Her Friends were right, they had dealt with worse, and together they could handle anything this world threw at them.

* * *

Applejack and her companions were currently experiencing something truly bizarre, and between Aj's life on the farm, and everything she had seen and done since meeting Twilight, that was certainly saying something. From what the farm Pony could tell, they had been trapped for at least a few hours, maybe even a day, and yet she hadn't even felt a lick of exhaustion. Hell, she didn't even feel cold, despite being trapped in her own personal iceberg.

Looking (her eyes being the one thing she could move) to her companions, she found that Trixie had a permanent look of distress and panic upon her face. Changing the direction of her peepers, she found Spike was seemingly calm, if a bit put upon. His face spoke of the fact that he was used to being inconvenienced on occasion by stuff like this, most likely because of Twilight.

Applejack herself had been worried at the start. She'd been in a panic and assumed that they would either suffocate or freeze to death. It had quickly become apparent however that this wouldn't be the case, as again, the ice wasn't even cold and for whatever reason she, and clearly her companions, could breath just fine. At this point however she was mostly confused and annoyed. Not as annoyed as Spike mind you, but annoyed.

The confusion came in the form of the ice they were incased in, as it was melting. While this didn't sound particularly bizarre, the oddity could be found in that it seemed the ice was melting from the bottom up. This was strange enough, but the ice had already melted to the point that the bottom of Aj's hooves were exposed, and she seemed to be floating in midair, her exposed hooves only now becoming cold. Finally, there was the fact that as the ice melted her vision started to become blurry. While Spike and Trixie were still visible, they were no longer as clear. But the real effect was to be found in their environment, the cave tunnel shifting and twisting into something that Applejack simply couldn't place.

Before Applejack could analyze the situation any further the ice began to crack, quite rapidly.

With this Aj's vision shifted further, and just as the change was becoming clear in Applejack's mind, the ice completely shattered. With this it became obvious to Applejack just what their eviorment had transitioned to, just as she lost contiousness.

As it turned out, the three had somehow gone from an unground tunnel to being under water. Aj had been knocked out due to the immediate change in pressure and not being able to hold her breath. Lucky for her Spike being a Dragon was a bit tougher and immediately snatched up her and Trixie. Then with great haste he began to swim for the surface.

Being a Dragon his lungs had a greater capacity for air than most species, an evolutionary design to fuel their fire breathing and to be able to breathe at greater altitudes.

This helped with the fact that he was was being hindered with having to pull the two Mares to the surface with everything he had.

Because they had just suddenly appeared underwater Spike wasn't sure how far from the surface they had been. It was however becoming abundantly clear that it was quite far as his lungs began to burn. His vision also began to blur quite rapidly. It was because of this that Spike, focussed wholly on getting to the surface, just barely noticed something out of corner of his eye though and thus payed it no further mind.

Finally, Spike broke the surface of the water, making sure to pull his Friend's heads up so that they weren't taking in anymore water.

Unfortunately for Spike he'd seemed to have jumped right out of the smoke and into the fire, metaphorically of course seeing as he was a Dragon.

Currently the purple fire-breather found himself on the surface of a rather turbulent ice-cold sea, with snow falling overhead and lightning striking from above.

Immediately Spike panicked. Without realizing it his slitted pupils dilated, his breathing grew rushed, and he pulled his two unconscious companions close. Any number of horrific thoughts passed through his young mind. His head began to spin rapidly, he could not focus. Everywhere was nothing but water and waves. He had nowhere to go. His resolve was weakening.

Just as he was ready to let it all end, a single thought passed though his mind. That if he wished it was all over it would be, but that while he may have been ready to let go, he couldn't do that to Applejack & Trixie. And as he was responsible for them he couldn't throw in the proverbial towel just yet. Just as he had resolved himself to swim to safety, wherever that was, he felt a bump against his spines. As a result of this truly unexpected occurrence, he screamed.

This scream let out in a literal ocean of noise, where no-one but its originator could hear was the sound spoken of when philosophers questioned if being heard qualified one for existence.

Spike, calmer but still high strung, slowly turned around to see . . .

A boat.

A boat he hadn't noticed until it made contact with him. In a lesser situation he might have blushed.

Not wasting any more time he used all his strength to toss Trixie onboard. Then using his now free arm he pulled himself and Aj onto the deck.

Letting go of his farm-pony companion he allowed most of the tension to leave his body. He then observed his surroundings fully and was frankly amazed as it seemed despite the high waves the vessel was doing a remarkable job of staying afloat. It was truly something as there was about an inch of water sloshing below his feet.

Looking at the vessel itself it seemed to be about 20 feet long. It had a single solitary mast at its center, the sail furled. It was around 12 feet wide and shaped almost like a canoe.

With a sudden spark of panicked recognition Spike knew that had to check on his Friends.

Looking first to Trixie, he saw that she appeared to be breathing just fine, somehow, sleeping peacefully. Going over what he knew about her he chocked it up to some permanent spell she had cast on herself. Looking next to Aj who was far closer he saw a reason to begin panicking again.

She wasn't breathing.

Wasting no more time he didn't even bother to check for a pulse or heart beat and began chest compressions. He continued this for the designated amount of time before switching to mouth to mouth. All his thoughts were on Applejack and what life would be like if she simply wasn't there. As a result he doubled his efforts.

He continued at this pace for what felt like an eternity but was in reality closer to two minutes.

Closer to the tail end of this he moved to enact some more mouth to mouth, when he suddenly found his face covered in salt water, jumping back as a result.

Ignoring the pain of getting salt in his eyes he focussed and found that the source of the water was Applejack, who looked like she had seen better days.

Seeing that his Friend was now sucking down air he let out a sigh of relief. She was coughing quite hard, but more importantly she was awake.

Spike thinking fast went about supporting her head and back as she emptied her lungs of all excess fluid.

Noticing after that she wasn't alone Aj spoke.

"Hey Spike. Boy howdy does my head feel like a chew-toy after old Winona had her way with it."

"Hey Applejack. Yeah, we seemed to have gotten lucky. You probably need your rest after almost drowning. Take a nap. I'll watch over you and Trixie."

"Kay. You're a good Dragon Spike."

Going to sleep pretty quick after that, Spike left her to her rest. He meanwhile would examine the rest of the ship.

He wasn't immediately accustomed to the rocking of the vessel and thus slowly slid along towards what appeared to be the bow. Holding onto the side of the boat he noticed that the whole thing seemed to be pretty darn new. He had gotten pretty handy living with Twilight, so he could tell this was some quality work he was currently standing on.

Moving towards the bow, very slowly, he found that the wood was clearly carved with great care and attention to detail.

Arriving at his destination he discovered that there was a cannon mounted at the head of the water-craft. Examing it he found that it swiveled slightly to the right or left if so prompted, but otherwise stayed in place. Spike highly approved the choose in weapon.

Placed in an odd pyramid behind the weapon, strangely not at affected apparently by the shifting waves, was a pile of ammunition. Slightly more than a dozen and all rough black iron.

Noticing something else at his feet, he saw that there appeared to be a few sticks, each with a rather sharp pointy end attached. They weren't immediately visible do to the sloshing water.

He had seen them somewhere before. What were they called again? Oh yeah, Harpoons.

Passing through the young Dragon's mind was a memory of a passage of a Equestrian maritime history book he was made to read by Twilight. There had been a hooful of pages on Whaling. It had spoke of harpoons and their use. It was explicitly stated that after only 112 Years the practice banned and made illegal in Equestrian waters. This had all occurred post Celestia's banishment of her sister so a few had speculated that she hadn't quite been focussed or paying attention at that time when it came to Ruling.

The only reason Spike recalled all of that was because he liked whale meat, and had to ask Twilight how they still had access to it even though it was illegal to procure. She had then explained that while it couldn't be procured within the Kingdom's borders, it was legal elsewhere and as long as the specialized Equestrian citizen had the license to sell the product it was legal to purchase from outside the Kingdom. This was why the tasty treat was available to him and a small minority of the Kingdom's Equine citizen's.

He had then promptly asked the then Unicorn if they could get such a license at which point she had replied with a prompt, **No!**

Seeing what he need to here he moved to examine the rest of the ship.

Getting past the mast to the other end of the water craft he found that there was a solitary anchor currently, well, anchored. Beside it was a rudder and the poll like means to control it.

Seeing as there appeared to be nothing of great interest to him at this end, he moved back towards his companions. He paused however as there appeared to be a somewhat damp piece of paper somehow attached to the mast.

Moving towards it instead he examined it to find that it was a note. Looking closely at the paper itself he found that it was fancy, outside of not being quite dry. There was stylized red lines and swirls at the top and bottom. As for the writing, it was also somewhat fancy, close to Rarity's Horn-writing except for being slightly more masculine.

Finally getting to what it said, it read as follows . . .

 **To Applejack, Spike, & Trixie.**

 **I have left this ship and the few supplies you will need to** **survive until you reach your means back to Equestria. I have already aided your Friends Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight Glimmer. I have left something for thy remaining companions. Have no fear, they are all alright for the moment, but time is of the essence. I can say little except that danger grows nearer all the while. Please be cautious and protect the others as best you can.**

 **Singed Brony enthusiast, and more importantly your Friend,**

 **Nick C.**

Well that was certainly, interesting.

Spike took a sigh of semi relief as while he wasn't so quick to trust this, Nick . . . .

He would take slight solace in at least the idea that the rest of his Friends were ok.

Thinking about the note further he, well, noted that this, "Nick" had left what he felt they would need. Considering that no food or fresh water was on board he figured that meant it shouldn't take particularly long to reach land. Of course, by that logic it meant that the weapons on board were for defense. At least, thats what made the most sense to Spike.

Not giving the note much further thought, he moved towards his Friends at last.

Taking a single admiring glance at them, he then settled against the mast for a well deserved rest.

* * *

Things were going surprisingly well with Twilight's group.

They managed to find the labyrinth and we're currently traversing it with little trouble. They were marking the walls with a simple bit of Alicorn Lazers.

Said walls were covered in many an odd pictographs. Some ancient battles, others seeming to tell stories of the lives of those who once resided nearby. The most eye catching thing however, were a set that seemed to depict a set of beings unrecognizable as Humans or Ponies, or any other know sapient creatures for that matter. Twilight would have stopped to examine them further if the situation wasn't urgent. The only other notable thing was that the walls were lined with a series of glowing Crystals in multiple colors. This was a remarkably strong source of light for the small group.

All in all, Twilight was convinced that they would be out in record time.

Starlight was still nervous. Despite all indications to the contrary, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was somehow going to go wrong. It was for this reason that she was lagging behind.

Meanwhile her fellow traveler's were in the throws of conversation.

"I'm telling you, this is the least thrilling! Least Dangerous! Adventure we've ever been on!" This was the multi-man colored Pegesus talking.

Twilight quickly made her thats known.

"Thats really a matter of opinion Rainbow. After all we don't know what the others are currently dealing with. And our "Adventure" isn't even over yet! Anything could happen!"

The Pegesus rolled her eyes.

"Sure. But compared to dealing with someone like Tirek, this is Nothing!"

Here the Princess gave her a _"are you kidding me"_ look with raised eyebrow to boot.

"Seriously!? You think Tirek is the toughest foe we've ever faced!?"

"What!? Come on! If not Tirek then who?"

"Nightmare Moon, obviously."

"Are you kidding!? Even Starlight was worse than Nightmare Moon!"

At this the still concerned Starlight gave the Pegasus's back a dirty look.

"Actually I consider Starlight a close second." The Alicorn said this while smiling.

In-turn the aforementioned Unicorn shrugged in agreement with a potent looking smirk on her face.

Rainbow just face hoofed.

The 2 Corns present giggled as a result.

Before the debate could continue however a great gust of wind seemed to blow in from behind the 3 Ponies who screamed as a result.

With the wind the three's ears popped and from all around them a mist and smoke that was black and green in color collected in front of them.

As the Girl's hearing cleared and they focused all around them they saw the strange clouds take the form of a pillar, slowly rising towards the sealing. They also took note of the Crystals on the walls beginning to crack.

And then it was pitch black. Not dark, just pitch black.

Once again as a result the three screamed . Then the sound of a shattering occurred, and there was light once more.

In this new light they could see that the tops of the Crystals were gone despite the fact that no broken pieces could be found on the ground. From the jagged remains of the once whole Crystals came the new source of light, flames. Flames that matched the color of each individual Crystal. This caused a multitude of bizarre shadows to be cast in all directions.

As everything was coming back into focus for our intrepid Adventurers, they saw that before them stood a being that hadn't been there before.

In seeing their, guest, the 3 Mares each took a step back. Their emotions high and each carrying a different expression.

Twilight a curious, yet cautious expression. Rainbow looked on with suspicion and just a hint of anger. Starlight however had the most out of place expression, as her pupils had shrunk so much they were invisible and a small line of sweat trailed down her cheek, her mouth a thin tight line.

As for the being itself, it was tall. Taller than Celestia, but shorter than Discord. It was wearing a dark green open cloak with plain black trousers, and a dirty stained and torn white t-shirt. It's hands and eyes might be familiar to you. The Ice Blue feline slit along with a fiery molten star. The hands were more like claws, each finger an inky glossy black. Long and thin like daggers mixed with a Spider's legs with 2 thumbs a piece. The feet were like a chickens talons, only two toes in the front. The claws on those were sickle shaped. It had wispy hair that seemed to be made of darkness itself, an odd set of **HAMMER** -Blood red cornrows interspersed with it. Rising from the forehead was a set of mighty stag antlers. The likes of which that looked as though they could be used to bring down a tree. Any visible skin was a chalky dirty white, almost grey color with green veins showing through the skin. Finally, upon the face was a wide unsettling happy grin. Sharp triangular teeth could be seen interlocking perfectly.

It's appearance only added to the terror it seemed to create with just it's presence alone.

Suddenly it began to laugh. This disturbed the three even more.

More than the laugh itself, was that it sounded a lot like Pinkie Pie. Not in voice mind you, but in tone and inflection. In the sheer energetic joy that was clearly being expressed.

 _ **"Hahahahhaha! I'm sorry, sorry. B**_ ** _ut your faces are priceless! So scared. Its too easy sometimes. Hahahaha!"_**

Suddenly any tension was gone and even Starlight look confused and looked to Rainbow who seemed just as befuddled. Twilight on the other Hoof looked on with a more inquisitive face. To her the voice, even the sentence sounded familiar. Like a sort of mostly harmless if annoying, chaos, was being channeled. It was like a gong had been rung in her mind as she came to a possible conclusion.

"Discord?" This was said by the Alicorn Princess with a accusatory if not wholly confident tone.

Suddenly it stopped laughing entirely. He'd gone from joy and laughter to a cold irritated look directed at the Princess. While there wasn't nearly as much tension as there had been with his arrival, he was certainly back to being intimidating.

 ** _"You would actually mistake me for that_** ** _Unimaginative Insensitive Slime!? I'm insulted Twilight. I'm genuinely offended."_**

Twilight was momentarily stunned from both the reaction, and the rather chilling tone the unnatural voice had temporarily taken. Still confused she offered a apology.

"Um, I'm sorry. Its just that for a second you reminded of, well, Discord."

The strange disturbing being sighed and rolled It's eyes.

 ** _"Very well, I_ _suppose_ _avoiding any and all resemblance is impossible. Regardless allow me to introduce myself to destroy any further confusion on your_** _ **parts."**_ He bowed at the waste here as he continued ** _"I am Image De Circus. But please, call me Mage."_**

Standing up straight, the being smiled again.

 ** _"Oh! And I was once King of this land we now occupy."_**

He said this with such nonchalance that it took a second to register in the Ponies brains. When it finally did they collectively screamed.

 _"WHAT!?"_

 ** _"Oh yes."_**

It was Rainbow who was next to voice her thoughts.

"So you were the tyrant who left this place in shambles and that had to be imprisoned!" It was certainly not a question as far as the Pegasus was concerned. The Pegasus who was now grimacing with a menacing glare and flaring nostrils.

 ** _"Yes, and No."_**

"What do you mean no?" This was Starlight who hadn't spoken since they had crossed the threshold of this strange labyrinth.

 ** _"While I am certainly the King you were informed of, I am not_ _responsible_ _for the current state of the realm. And while I may have been harsh now and again, as any good ruler needs to be, I was hardly a tyrant. In fact, it was 19 members of my own court who unjustly imprisoned and betrayed ME!"_**

It was with the final word that he expressed a unnerving degree of malice.

Rainbow Dash didn't look like she believed him.

"I don't believe you!"

See, I told you.

Starlight and Twilight looked on with suspicion yet, less skepticism. Being the Princess that she was, Twilight stepped forward and in front of her Friends.

"If what you say is remotely true, then why were we lied to?" She said this with a firm, royal tone of voice.

He just continued to smirk.

 ** _"Well, as it turns out I've been following you. And the old man who did in deed lie to you did so because, as I observed, he was a follower of mine who believed_** ** _that my return was marked by your arrival. He was right of course, but that is besides the point. As for the things he said about my apparent 'Cruelty' well, I'd say he actually believed what he said to a point. After all, it has been more than a Millenia. I'd say He was simply alive too long."_**

At this point all three Mares looked less hostile. Rainbow was still glaring while Starlight looked on with far more mild suspicion. Only Twilight kept something resembling a poker face.

"Ok, then why follow us? Why meet us here?"

 ** _"Why, to thank you for freeing me of course."_**

Here Twilight looked to her Friends with a raised Eyebrow before turning back.

"What do you mean? We didn't free you."

 ** _"Oh but_ _you_ _did Twilight. Not intentionally. But yes, you did indeed free me. When your_ _new found_ _teleportation_ _spell malfunctioned it tore a hole in the fabric of space-time and shook this reality, thus freeing me. "_**

Here Twilight and her Friends looked shocked. Then melancholy appeared on the Princess's face and she put her head down in defeat.

"So I was responsible for bringing us here. I did put us all in danger. I miscalculated somehow."

Before her Friends could offer comfort, Mage once again spoke up.

 ** _"Actually, no."_ ** This got everypony's attention and Twilight looked surprised and almost hopeful **_" Let us move forward a bit. I will explain as I lead_ _you out of the_** ** _labyrinth."_** He the began to move forward. The Ponies, seeing no reason not to at this point, did as he suggested. Once they were moving at a relaxed and steady pace he began to talk again. ** _"_** ** _You see, when_** **_your Friend Rarity placed the chaos orb onto the Cutie-map it_ _created a conduit of Balance. Now the thing about Balance Magic is that it is both orderly, and unpredictable. As such it could create almost any result under the right_ ****_circumstances. Like for instance channeling an unprecedented amount of raw magical energy from a powerful totem. One like say . . . ."_**

Here something clicked in Twilights head.

"Like the tree of Harmony!"

 ** _"Exactly! And this would_** ** _mean that . . . ."_**

He prompted this while barely looking behind him as the three Mares followed. Despite him being slight rudely Twilight followed up on the prompt like she was back in class.

"And that means that I didn't miscalculate! I just didn't account for a great burst of raw Magic that enhanced my spell well past its intended range!"

The Princess looked especially happy here. To best express this, lets say that she made a rather adorable face, in which case Mage went . . . . . **_"Daaawwwww."_**

Now Starlight looked quite contemplative, as though everything said raised a lot of questions that she wanted answered. The next to deliver a question however was Rainbow Dash.

"Wait just a minute! Even if everything you said is true, how could you possibly know all that stuff? In fact hod you know Twilight's name!?"

This got the other two's attention. It was clear this simply hadn't occurred to either of them.

 ** _"Well done. I do indeed know the Princess's given name Ms. Dash. And Starlight Glimmer as well. As to how, well that is partially due to how I was imprisoned. You see, my betrayers created a rather cruel yet creative means to keep me trapped. I was placed in a small pocket dimension. One for which its design ensured I could not escape via my own means. A small space where I could see the world around me, hear it, and yet never interact with it. And so my only recourse was to watch as the_** ** _world changed around me and I wasn't able to do anything about it. Finding that depressing I used my power and my prison to view other worlds. Eventually I came across a familiar one, yours."_**

It was here that he noticed how quiet it had become. Turning to look He saw that his newfound companions had stopped a ways behind him. The look on the Pony's faces spoke to the horror they were experiencing at the though of his experience. Suddenly Starlight Glimmer spoke up.

"How could anypony just do that!?"

Now in the air, Rainbow looked angry again. Though this time, it didn't seem to be directed at Mage.

"Those sick jerks! Tell me where they are and I'll teach them a lesson!" Once again she was flaring her nostrils.

Mage looked mildly surprised. But he didn't let that last Long and soon regained his composure.

 ** _"Ah yes, empathy. I forgot it was something that existed in the Omniverse. As for my betrayers, they're all dead now. Those here have been known to live for millennia, but sometimes fate, and karma, have been known to be cruel."_** He seemed to say this with a shade of dark amusement in his voice.

Rainbow deflated just a bit, before crossing her front hooves and putting a tough determined face before saying "Yeah? Well lucky them! If they were still around I'd have to take care of them!"

 ** _"Hahah. I'm sure you would have given them Hell. Now come on. We're not far from the exit at this point. Don't want to waste any more_** ** _time."_**

And so the odd yet powerful being quickly turned and headed for the exit. His new Pony companions moved forward to try and catch up. Mage on the other hoof payed them little further mind. This is how he found himself caught by surprise when he felt something soft enter his claw's grasp.

Looking down he saw that Twilight had placed her right hoof in his claw. She was smiling at him. At that moment he felt a slight flicker of regret, but he pushed it aside and focussed on the task at claw. He did however allow a small smile to cross his now slightly less scary face.

Now the Ponies seemed content and were chatting once gain. Even Starlight was at ease. Their new traveling buddy quiet all the while.

There seemed to be nothing in the world that could tear down this great new wall of joy.

Soon they came upon the exit. Seeing this the Ponies rushed forward jumping and hollering in joy.

Mage stayed back basking in the moment with a content smile on his face, just soaking it all in.

This soon slipped away however, and he let out a sombre sigh.

 ** _"Girls. I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news."_**

This got their attention quickly. And while they looked concerned, they weren't really worried.

Sighing once again because of this, Mage moved forward.

 ** _"I am most grateful that you have freed me, even_** ** _unintentionally. As such I will tell you to take a right turn to continue going south. It would be best if you reached the means of your escape in 3 days if you wish for things to go smoothly."_**

Starlight was the one to ask what she felt was an obvious question.

"And what happens in 3 days?"

With one last sigh Mage answered the question.

 ** _"Simply put, in 72 Hours and 12 Minutes I'm going to come and find you. I am then going to kill you. All 9 of you."_**

Immediately there was a great loud emotional response of " _WHAT!?"_ and on the Mare's faces was a look of absolute shock.

 ** _"Yes, I know._ _Surprising_ _isn't_ _it. As I am grateful to you for freeing me I will allow you a 72 hour window to reach Freedom. But after that point you will be at my mercy. So please, get out of my world."_**

Even with these additional words they were still in shock.

All except Rainbow.

"What are you saying!? We're Friends! Why would you want to kill us!?'"

 ** _"Oh Rainbow._ _Don't_ _be dense. I_ _couldn't_ _possibly be your Friend. I will_** ** _however take on the reluctant roll of teacher."_**

The simple disregard for all she believed in and the threat to those she cared for seemed to make Rainbow far more than simply Angry. Oh no, she was Pissed!

Flying forward the Pegasus pulled back her right hoof and in the 12 seconds it took her to reach her target thrust it forward with the force of a _Sonic-Rainboom._

It seemed however that all she got for her effort was the quiet grunt of her target as she has struck him in the stomach.

Said target then let out a quick boisterous chuckle.

 ** _"Now Rainbow Dash, that wasn't supposed be a punch was it. In that case I know what your first lesson will be. Lesson #1, How to properly throw a punch."_**

He then threw his balled up left claw forward at ludicrous speed, right into the Cyan Mare's face.

Rainbow flew back from the force of the blow. Hitting the floor, she bounced to the sealing with the accompanying sound of a pinball hitting obstacles. This process was repeated a few times as she bounced back towards the other two Ponies present.

This was also how Twilight and Starlight finally broke from their Shock induced trance and yelled to together _"RAINBOW!"_ and rushed to her side.

Mage merely looked on, his face the least expressive it had been since he had arrived.

Suddenly, without warning, Rainbow rose up onto her four hooves. She was bruised and breathing heavily. But more than that she was looking at Mage, a look of animalistic rage on her face.

Seeing this and recognizing what it meant Twilight attempted to dissuade her.

"Rainbow, Don't! Its not worth it. He's given us time to get away, lets just go back Home to Equestria! To Ponyville!"

Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash wasn't listening.

Moving forward again, Dash went about attempting another punch. And then another, and another, and so on and so forth. None of them landed. This partially seemed to be do to a combination of Mage's ability to dodge and Rainbow's lack of focus.

Mage himself was still completely stone faced, his arms behind his back as he moved around the manic-moving pony. He moved deliberately with little visible effort.

This only enraged Rainbow even further as she increased her efforts to land, a, single, solid, blow.

As the Cyan Pegasus moved closer still to her opponent, Mage suddenly jumped over the mid-air Pegasus, twisting as he passed over her. In a single blinding second the strange monstrous being struck with his claw and brought the Pegasus down to ground level.

There were no sound effects this time. Just the harsh sound of a body hitting stone.

Once again her Friends moved to Rainbow's side. It was here they saw the new wound that had been inflicted. A series of 6 ugly red gashes that ran down her throat, the central 3 clearly deep enough that they would scar. It was also clear that Rainbow wouldn't be getting up at the moment. She however was still conscious and looking at Mage with a primal anger.

He on the other hoof was looking on with his completely unmoving expression. Perhaps this is why the Ponies were a bit surprised when he finally talked once more.

 ** _"Your 12 Minutes are up. Your 72 Hours begin, now."_**

He then, before their very eyes, deformed into smoke & ash and was blown away in the cool silent wind.

Not dwelling on this at all the 2 Corns focussed on their hurt Friend.

For the moment they gave little further thought to the one called _Mage._

* * *

Spike had been falling asleep for awhile now. How long exactly he definitely couldn't say. Being with Twilight so long really didn't instill one a competent ability to measure their time well.

Regardless, a sudden shiver up & down his Spine woke him to complete alertness.

The first thing he noticed was that his Friends hadn't seemed to to have moved so that definitely wasn't what had made him alert.

Looking at their mode of transportation a bit he saw that nothing had changed here either.

Looking to the deck itself, he saw that the formerly sloshing waters had stopped. This got his heart beating a bit more and had him moving to the wall separating him from the sea. Looking to this unknowable body of water, he saw something that sparked every nerve along his scales.

Where as before the sea had been undulating with almost unnerving consistency and volume, the waters now seemed calm and completely still.

Spike couldn't say why this distressed him so. He thought as he rose from his kneeling position trying to come to some conclusion.

In his attempt to understand what was stumping him he looked looked up. He was suddenly struck dumb.

The reason was that he noticed the furled sail seem to be completely still. With this a rather horrifying thought had struck him.

Wasting no time testing his hypothesis he stuck his pointer claw in his mouth.

Plucking the now moist digit from his maw he stuck his arm up towards the heavens. What he felt made his blood run cold, which for a Dragon was rather uncomfortable.

Or rather, what he didn't feel.

There was no breeze, no wind. Just a wet claw pointed towards the sky.

Pulling his arm to his side he looked at his surroundings.

He was now breathing quite heavy to the point that bursts of smoke were exiting his mouth every few seconds. He couldn't seem to focus as thoughts like _"Has the boat always been this small?"_ and _"How are they still_ _sleeping? Don't they know somethings wrong?"_ passed through his suddenly stressed mind. He also briefly considered if this was something like how Twilight felt when she had a _Freak out._

He was now spinning, stopping only momentarily every so often to observe a supposed movement that he might have seen from the corner of his eye. In Spike's mind the themes of some his favorite Horror films were playing at full volume.

It was like the whole world was closing in on his small isolated location and had absolutely no care for how it affected him.

He was due to stop spinning in paranoia again. Doing so, he was now facing the Bow.

Here he screamed a shrill scream of total, absolute, terror, though he couldn't hear it over the sound of his own Heart beating in his ear-holes.

Facing the Dragon now was the face of someone Spike would have described as a great design for a Comic book Supervillian.

The many triangle shaped teeth made Spike break out in goose-pimples. The " _Horns"_ triggered a sense of primal fear. Meanwhile worst of all the horribly bright, mismatched Eyes made him feel as though his soul was ready to leave his body just to get away from the _thing._

Suddenly its triangular teeth separated.

Spike as a result closed his eyes in fear of what he assumed would be a violent end as some creature's dinner.

Instead he heard a voice unlike any he had ever heard in his life greet him.

 ** _"Hello, Spike."_**

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

And here we have the latest chapter of a story that in my opinion took way to long to write. In my defense though I am a slow writer, and life kind got in the way.

Please note that there is a accent of sorts when it come to the name _Image De Circus._ I just didn't know how to write it out _._

Please tell me what you think and politely inform me of any improvements I might need.


End file.
